The Wrong Prince
by SettingStars01
Summary: 35 girls. 4 princes. One Selection. Big as the palace is, rumors are known to travel, and imagine the gossip about the girl who fell in love with the wrong prince. Affairs in the Selection mean death. But what if the person you fall in love with is a prince? Would the rule still apply? Would you be willing to stake your life on it? SYOC CLOSED.
1. Chapter 1

Why enter the selection? As a six, anyone would assume it was to climb castes. But that wasn't why Indie had entered. She had done it simply for the experience, such was the reason for many things she did. She wanted to live life to the fullest and try out everything before settling on one thing that she could be passionate about. Not only did this open many doors in the career department, but it also made it much easier to talk to people, to make friends. She had something in common with nearly everyone.

Indie walked into the kitchen, hoping for a snack (though there were low on food) and found Cecily instead. Her identical twin was slouched over their rickety table, a book open in front of her- fast asleep. Cecily was Indie's other half. Where Indie excelled at languages, literature, all things art- related and music, Cecily was fond of mathematics, science, history, and geography. They did each other's homework and got all A's due to this fact- all in an attempt to gain some attention from their father. Unfortunately, that dream had died a long time ago, though they kept doing each other's homework for the grades. Banishing thoughts of her father, Indie sat next to her twin on the bench and studied her.

Cecily was beautiful when she slept; for once there was no concerned look or thinking wrinkle. Her pale face was free of the usual tired lines, and she looked almost… at peace. Running her hands through her sister's moonlight- blonde hair, Indie smiled. She knew that peace was a rare thing for her sister; she always wanted to fix everything. She wanted to be remembered for doing something great long after her death, which Indie couldn't help but admire.

Despite having a sister who always made an effort to be friends with everyone, Cecily had always been rather reserved. She was always quiet and rather impatient with other people, whereas Indie could sit and listen attentively to other people's problems for hours- and had done so once before. The two girls really were opposites.

The Report would be on soon and, knowing that Cecily would want to see who got picked for the selection, seeing as she entered as well (though she pretended she didn't care about the outcome), Indie reluctantly awoke her and the two girls sat on their old sofa in front of their cruddy TV, Cecily still grumbling about not getting enough sleep. Indie decided to ignore her and instead focused on the Report.

An image of the princes flickered on the screen. Prince William was the youngest at 14 years old, then Aaron at 16, and then the prince who would be taking the throne- the one the Selection was being held for. Ethan. Oddly enough, though, he wasn't the oldest out of all the princes. Prince Jaxon was one year older than him- 19- but had stepped down from the throne. In addition to this, he refused to have a Selection held for him. His icy grey gaze sent a shiver down Indie's back.

For the most part, the princes looked relatively the same. William, Ethan and Jaxon all had dark brown hair in soft curls. Aaron was the only blonde and had eyes like prince Jaxon's. Ethan and William both had eye colors like a mix of hazel and gold. None of them looked like they wanted to be on stage.

The screen flickered and went black. Indie almost cried out in surprise and disappointment, but Cecily simply went back to reading her book, as if it made no difference to her.

Indie was in the middle of texting a friend who was a Two, called Sarah, to ask if she would tell her who got in when the TV came back to life. Indie smiled at this, and Cecily put her book away again. But she still sent the text. Just in case. Sarah had been an amazing friend to her for as long as she could remember. She'd always lend her supplies for her art, books for studying (most of which went to Cecily) and always let her play on her piano and her guitar. If Indie got into the Selection, she vowed she would make it up to her when she became a Three.

Four pictures of pretty girls and names Indie couldn't remember where presented before she saw Cecily. As usual, she had favored a long sleeved dark blue top instead of one of Indie's colorful- maybe a little paint-covered- T-shirts and plain black leggings. Her hair was down, covering her shoulders and almost white in the lights of the room she had been in. Her hands were folded respectfully in her lap and she was smiling if not happily at least politely into the camera.

Indie's phone buzzed as Sarah texted her the news. Five more girls were presented. More and more girl's pictures showed up on the close-to-failing screen and Indie was sure it was over when she saw her own picture. Her hair- not the moonlight color of her sister's, but closer to spun gold- was in it's usual braid, hanging over her shoulder. Her deep sea green eyes gleamed at the prospect of being in the Selection. Her head was slightly tilted.

Then she disappeared and an announcer took her place. "That's all of them-" Indie didn't hear the rest. She was just too shocked. Judging by the look on her face and the silence between them, Cecily felt the same way.

In the silence, her phone buzzed as Sarah texted her again. It was real. She was going to be part of the Selection.

 **A/N: This is my first Selection fanfic, so please don't be too harsh, but I'd love to hear what you think so far. This is a SYOC story. If I don't get two more characters to write about before next week, I will post a chapter in the prince's POV instead. Please review!**

 **-M**


	2. Chapter 2

Despite having entered the Selection, despite having so carefully filled out her form, Cecily had never dared imagine that she, a lowly six, could actually get into the Selection. Her jaw hadn't left the ground since she saw her picture, and when Indie got in as well, it fair fell off.

Indie's phone was buzzing like crazy- probably that Two friend of her's. Cecily had to admit, her sister had really scored there; the books she received were enough to her into an excellent University, the art supplies and instruments at her house kept Indie entertained, and because they were sixes, they didn't even have to repay her- they were just too poor. When you found someone with generosity like that, you kept them around.

Cecily wondered briefly if that was why she entered- so she could pay back her friend for all of her generosity. And no, she didn't buy the whole 'doing it for the experience' thing. Cecily certainly hoped her sister hadn't entered with naive thoughts of _love_. Love was something you could find in books and movies, but real life? In real life the closest you could get was an illusion of love. She knew this from experience.

As for Cecily's own reasoning for entering, she wanted to make a difference in this twisted, broken world that they all called home. As a six, what difference could anyone make? But if she became queen-

Her thoughts were interrupted when Indie suddenly jumped up from the sofa. "We got in!" she exclaimed. Her eyes were alight with surprised joy. "I can't believe we both got in!"

Cecily allowed herself to smile; her sister was one of the only people in this world that she didn't have to shut out and hide her emotions from. "Yeah," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loudly it would all shatter before her eyes. "Yeah… we really did." She had been given the chance she had always dreamed of to fix the world. And she wouldn't waste it. Not for love, or happiness. As long as the world was fit for her dear Indie by the end of it, she would have lived her pitiful existence with at least that one thing that would make all she had lived through worth it. And Indie would never have to know her pain, or anyone else's. She would be able to live a happy life.

The world had already ruined her, but so long as she had anything to say about it, Indie would never have to experience any of the pain that Cecily had had to live through. She was too good and pure for this world, so Cecily would have to fix it for her. That was her sole existence.

 **A/N: There. Second chapter done. Tell me what you think! I remind you all that this is a SYOC story. However, I will only accept up to eight more characters; I don't want to be overwhelmed by all the characters I have to write about and want to be able to remember them all, which becomes difficult when you have a lot of them. Try to be creative- I don't want characters that are all the same, but no crazy hair colors or names.**

 **Name (Please make it relatively easy to spell and include their last name):**

 **Nickname (Optional):**

 **Age (15-19):**

 **Province:**

 **Caste (Try to make it a wide range, but try to avoid Eights):**

 **Occupation:**

 **Hobbies:**

 **Appearance (Also add in what the would wear in the Selection and any changes to their appearance during the makeovers):**

 **Personality: (Be descriptive. Give some good stuff to work with here, guys ;). The longer the answer the better)**

 **Family (just names is fine, but try to give them personalities, too. Pets count as family!):**

 **History/Background (Add in any past relationships):**

 **Reasoning for entering the Selection (make it good!):**

 **Have fun creating your characters!**

 **-M**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You all have yet to meet the royal family, so I wrote a chapter from the prince's POV. I hope you enjoy it! Please review! I know the previous chapters were kind of short, this one will be too, but at the moment I'm just letting you get to know the characters. The chapters will get longer further into the story, I promise. Please continue creating characters and don't be scared to review.**

 **-M**

Ethan had been pacing for a good 15 minutes, completely lost in thought, before anyone thought to say anything- unhelpful as it was.

"I'm glad I don't have to go through the whole Selection process," Aaron said. "I mean, can you imagine?" Ethan could imagine it, actually. That was all he had been doing since his father had brought it up. "35 girls all competing for someone they don't even know," Aaron continued. "The whole thing is ridiculous! They'll all probably be horrible, as well. Probably why Jaxon worked so hard to worm his way out of it. It's really stupid to think-"

Will shoots his brother a warning look before Ethan explodes. "I already know that, Aaron! Now would you please stop ranting about my how _stupid_ and _ridiculous_ my situation is and just let me think?!" He fully intended to worm his way out of as well, but he didn't know how his brother managed it, as he refused to talk. And so here he was: pacing back and forth and waiting for an idea to dawn on him.

It wasn't like he had anything against the girls, but he just wasn't ready to get married. Or take the throne, for that matter. He found himself selfishly wishing for the millionth time that Jaxon hadn't stepped down.

He hardly ever saw his older brother any more. Ever since he stepped down from the throne, Jaxon had been avoiding the palace- and everyone in it. Jaxon had never explained his reasoning for stepping down from the throne to Ethan, but it wasn't difficult to imagine; he'd always been envious of the other princes, wishing he had their freedom. But why did he have to up and leave after that?

Ethan could still remember that day he lost not only his freedom but also his older brother vividly. Jaxon never even said goodbye. His parents had given him the news, his father looking pleased with the few extra years on the throne he had gained from Jax's cowardice. When Ethan ran out of his father's office, he found out that Jax was already gone.

He'd tried for several weeks afterwards to communicate with his brother. Sent him more letters than he could count. Tried to meet him even more often. But nothing. It was like Jax had ceased to exist.

And now he was back. Back to stay at the palace for the Selection. Maybe the wretched tradition had brought some good after all. But, really, Ethan couldn't decide if it _was_ a good thing that Jaxon was back. His emotions were a mess, and with his other problems pressing on him, he really didn't have the time or energy to sort them all out. Fortunately, he didn't have to; despite the fact that he was back at the palace, Jaxon was continuing to pretend he didn't exist. Ethan hadn't managed to muster up the courage to go find him, either.

Sighing, he collapsed into the nearest chair and risked a glance up at Aaron and Will. Will's brow was furrowed in concern and Aaron still looked shocked that his brother had yelled at him. Ethan always tried to keep a calm demeanor around his brothers; just because Jaxon thought it was okay to fail horribly as a brother didn't mean he felt the same way.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," he whispered, so quietly that he was certain that Aaron hadn't heard. He was about to repeat himself when Aaron grinned at him.

"Ah, it's fine. Not your fault you've suddenly got all this stress." His brother's smile turned softer. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have said all those things about the Selection." Though Aaron was boisterous and liked to tease, he was probably the most sensitive out of all of the princes.

Ethan nods his head, but he doesn't miss that Aaron doesn't take back what he said. If the Selection was half as bad as he had suggested, Ethan was in for one hell of a nightmare.

Banishing thoughts of the Selection, Ethan turned his attention to Will. "And you," he said, standing up and walking across the room to ruffle his youngest brother's hair, "need to stop being so worried about me."

Will scowled at him and patted down his hair. Ethan laughed went back to his seat. "I'll be fine. Maybe the Selection won't be so bad after all." He looked down so he wouldn't have to see the doubting looks on his brother's faces. His head snapped up when a servant entered the room, announcing that the forms of the girls in the Selection had arrived. Well, then. Time to see what- or rather whom- fate had in store for Prince Ethan.

 **A/N: So now you've met the princes. Or, most of them, anyway. Jaxon will be in it more when the actual Selection starts. Tell me what you thought of the latest chapter. Don't be shy, review away! I remind you all, this is an SYOC story. Don't be afraid to create a character. Please review!**

 **-M**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I already got two amazing characters! Thank you to Lady Crystal Beach for Sera (It's really great that you've got an account now! ;)) and Jcuret98 for Camille. You guys rock! To everyone else reading this, don't be shy. Review away! I'm still accepting six more girls, so don't be afraid to create one. Next chapter will be about the makeovers- I'll include the twins, Camille, Sera and any new characters I get. Remember to review! ;)**

 **-M**

The whole Alverez family was up at 5 in the morning, thanks to Camille's mom, Carmen. She'd gotten up extra- early just so she could start packing. Camille groaned into her pillow. She really did _not_ need any more reminders that 35 girls would be Selected today.

Usually, it would just be an inconvenience for her to have to pretend to care, but this time- this time was different. Because she had entered.

"Sweetie? What dress do you think you should wear when you get picked? We're going to have a party afterwards for you, and I want you to look your best!" Carmen yelled up at her.

The Selection hadn't even started yet, and it was already ruining her life. " _What_?!" she screeched, almost falling off her bed. "NO! No, no, no, no, absolutely _not_!" She rushed downstairs where her mother was no doubt looking through all the dresses she owned that might fit her daughter. "Mom," she said breathlessly, "no parties, and no dresses, or high heels, or anything else like that. Okay?"

Her mother looked horrified. "Then what do you want to wear?"

Camille shrugged, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "The usual, I guess." She let out a yawn. "Besides, I probably won't get picked." _No_ , she said mentally, _I had_ better not _get picked_. If she did, she was sure she'd scream her head off.

Carmen glared at her. "You're 17 now, Camille. You need to grow up and start acting like a lady. The Selection will whip you into shape."

Camille rolled her eyes. "Right, _of course_ it will." She put her right hand over her heart and made her eyes sparkle. "And I'll wear _lovely_ pink dresses and these, like, _super high_ high heels and-" she clasped her hands together and sighed for effect- "I'll meet _the prince_!"

Her mother assumed that shipping her daughter off to princess- land would make her the daughter she had always wanted. She was in for a surprise, because no amount of princes, palaces, dresses, or makeovers could really ever change Camille. And that was just if she got picked- which she was certain _wouldn't_ happen.

Carmen frowned at her daughter's sarcasm but didn't bother to respond. Camille snorted and walked off, annoyed at her mother for treating her like some prize horse for the prince.

Later that day, her mom had packed five suitcases for her, which was just a horrific waste of time, and the family of four were all sitting in front of the TV. Camille zoned out until the announcer started listing off the Selected. They were all beautiful and looked happy to be having their picture taken, until they reached her. She had purposely pulled faces at the camera man until he gave up on her and chose the one of her scowling. The same caramel skin, the same forest- green eyes, the same long, thick curly black hair. There was no mistaking it for anyone else. Camille had been Selected.

Her mother frowned slightly at the picture, but Camille could tell that she was mainly just happy that her daughter had been Selected, though she wasn't surprised. Her father, however, looked as horrified as she felt. "My daughter? A princess?" he stuttered, disbelief plain on his face. Camille had always been a Daddy's girl; he had even trained her to be a pro-boxer. He had only gone along with her entering to appease her mother and because he obviously hadn't thought she'd get picked either- Camille wasn't sure how she felt about the second part. Christian just stood in shock, staring dumbly at the TV, as if he expected the announcer to yell, "Just kidding!" and pick someone else. Camille kind of wished he would. But there was no saving her from this. She had been Selected. What a nightmare.

"Yay," she mumbled. "I'm getting shipped off the princess- land."

* * *

Sera had been stress- baking for hours before Clara's curiosity got the better of her. "What's got you so stressed out?" she asked. Sera washed all the flour off her hands and tried to get her voice to work.

"I, uh…" She tried again. "Well, hopefully you'll see soon." She couldn't quite bring herself to admit to Clara that she'd entered for the Selection; she wasn't sure how her youngest sister would react to that. She still wasn't even sure why she had done it in the first place.

Sera loved her life as a Four. She had two lovely younger sisters, she had become head chef at her family's business 2 years ago, and she loved her job. Other than that, though, she had never been in love.

Maybe the Selection would be her chance to experience the love that she read about in books and had sometimes seen in movies. And, besides, it's not like it wouldn't be totally awesome to live in a palace. It probably wasn't even as big of a deal as she was making it; the chances of her being chosen were, like, one in a million.

"Where's Zizi?" Sera asked, stalling for time. Knowing Clara, the questions would be back before long, most of which Sera wouldn't know how to answer.

Clara shrugged. "Dunno." Brow creased in concern for her second sister, Sera quickly wiped her hands on a towel and stormed out of the family restaurant. Clara ran to keep up. "Wait! You can't just leave! There's no one there to take your place!" She was probably right, but that didn't stop Sera; she had always been one to act before she thought about the consequences of her actions. Oh, well. She'd worry about that when she really had to.

"Zizi's not with Brian again, is she?" Sera couldn't keep the anger and distrust out of her voice. Weeks ago, she had caught Brian with another girl. On a date. Even though he was dating Zizi. Sera hadn't had the heart to tell her what she had seen, but she had tried to warn Zizi to stay away from him. Unfortunately, she hadn't listened.

Clara finally caught up to her. "I already told you, I don't know!" Sera studied her surroundings, trying to think of where they would go. First she checked her house, then the nearby barn they sometimes liked to hang out in, then finally found them in an old restaurant that she had worked at years ago.

They were both sat at a table for two, placed near a window, sitting across from each other. Brian seemed to be nervously telling Zizi something, then he saw Sera and he went stiff. Zizi turned around in her chair to see what had freaked him out and Sera walked over to their table. Clara wisely decided to stand back and watch from a safe distance.

Sera was about to start yelling at her Zizi for making her worry about her and then ditch work, when she saw the tears threatening to spill down Zizi's cheeks and stopped short. She turned to Brian, and judging by his face, she looked like a demon from hell. She was _furious_. Nobody made someone Sera cared about cry. Not without getting a hell of a fight from her. "What. Did. You. Do?"

Zizi didn't give him the chance to answer. "He broke up with me." Sera was impressed that her sister managed to keep her voice even and calm. She stared into Zizi's large blue eyes, a mirror image of her own, filled with heartbreak. And then something in her completely snapped.

Sera grabbed Brian by his shirt collar and dragged him to his feet as he cried out in shock, bringing his face close to her's and watched as every drop of blood drained from his face until he was chalk white. "If you ever come _anywhere_ near or ever so much as _glance_ at Zizi the wrong way again," she made sure to keep her voice dangerously low to avoid causing too much of a scene and to freak him out even more, "and I will skin you alive." She let go of his collar and he fell back into his seat.

"Come on, Zizi," Sera said, never looking away from Brian's now- terrified face. The guy didn't even try to apologize, just sat there, frozen. The coward. "Let's not waste our time here with this sorry excuse of a person." With that, she looped one arm through Zizi's, the other through Clara's, and left the restaurant with her head held high.

As soon as she was sure that Brian wouldn't be able to see from the restaurant, Sera stopped and pulled Zizi in for a hug and the dam burst, soaking her apron with tears. When Zizi's breathing was almost back to normal, she pulled away and sniffed, mopping up the tears with her sleeve. Not knowing what else to do to make poor Zizi feel better, Sera blurted out, "I think Brian pissed himself back there," and was rewarded with shaky laughter from Zizi and a huge grin from Clara.

"That was awesome," her youngest sister commented. "You totally freaked him out." The three of them laughed a little more before walking the rest of the way home.

Zizi stayed put when they reached their house, as if stepping through the door would mean walking away from something important forever, with no way to go back. Sera motioned for Clara to go on in and she just shrugged and left Sera and Zizi alone in the silence standing just outside their house. "Thank you," Zizi whispered. Sera smiled softly back at her, knowing that a 'thank you' from her proud peacock of a sister was difficult to come by.

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her sister's ear and gently lifted her chin so she would have to look her in the eye. "He wasn't even nearly good enough for you, anyway." Zizi sniffed and, after a moment of silence Sera decided that now was probably the best chance she would get to tell Zizi what she had been stressing about so much lately. "Besides, I entered the Selection and if I get in, you'll have guys wanting to date the Selected girl's sister coming from all around the world," she joked.

Her sister's jaw dropped just as Clara announced that the Report was on. Zizi remained silent as they all settled down and Sera was beginning to get worried that she was mad at her- her parents certainly were, seeing as she had ditched work- when they started listing off the Selected and her attention was otherwise occupied. It showed a girl with almost white hair with a polite smile, a dark haired girl who managed to look gorgeous while scowling at the camera- which Clara giggled at- and a girl with caramel hair in two french braids on either side of her head, with a few strands left artfully around her face, fair skin and- wait.

Sera remembered asking Clara to braid her hair the day she had gotten her picture taken. She had put some brown eyeliner on that day to make her big, blue eyes pop. It was her. While she was stunned into silence, Zizi had busied herself with shrieking and congratulations. Her parents seemed to forgive her for running away from work, and Clara-

Sera's youngest sister was nowhere in sight. After thanking the rest of her family for being so optimistic about her being Selected, she hurried off to Clara's room and found her draped over her bed, shoulders trembling and cheeks wet with tears.

"Clara!" Sera rushed to her side, concern written all over her face. "What's wrong?"

Blotchy faces and shaking, Clara pushed Sera away and stood. "You idiot! How can you not have already guessed? I entered, too!" Sera froze. At 16 years old, Clara certainly could have entered. But she had never imagined she actually would… "I entered, too," Clara whispered. "You know what?" she asked, her anger back and directed at Sera. "I thought that this time you'd allow me to shine. You became head chef with ease while I worked all day every day in the hopes of at least being 2nd place, and now this?!" Her dainty hand balled up into fists. "You're the worst sister ever! I hate you!"

Those words were worse than any physical blow. Sera stumbled backwards, eyes full of tears, as Clara stormed out of the room. And it occurred to Sera that her youngest sister was right. How could she expect her sisters to shine if she always beat them to it?

Suddenly being Selected didn't feel so amazing any more. It felt like a curse. If wasn't worth losing her sister's love over. It wasn't worth it. Sera wrapped her arms around her middle and sat down on the floor, letting the tears fall.

For once, there was no one here to comfort her. And perhaps, she didn't deserve it. Because someone who hurt the people who loved her without even realizing it didn't deserve to be loved at all. Maybe Clara hating her was justified, Sera thought, because in that moment, she hated herself, too.

 **A/N: What did you think? Did I portray the characters well? Keep in mind that this is my first SYOC story, so I'm not really used to writing characters I didn't create myself. Also, please keep creating characters for me to write. I'm having a lot of fun with this ;).**

 **-M**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey, I'm sorry that took so long, and that I didn't do nearly as many characters' POVs as I promised, but on top of the four I already have (including the twins) I just got two more and no way can I fit all of those in one chapter without taking absolutely forever to update. Sera and two other new characters that have been submitted will be in the next chapter. Enjoy!**

 **-M**

After taking her 'before' photo, Indie was ushered over to a booth with three shy- looking maids. A maid with wispy, mousy brown hair asked her who she wanted to be in the Selection, her voice low and quiet. Indie looked for her nametag, but either she wasn't wearing it or it was covered by her hair.

Indie refrained from frowning. Who _did_ she want to be? She knew what she wanted to look like after the makeover- just herself with makeup- but she had never thought about how she would change not only her appearance but _herself_. "Umm… I just want to be myself, really."

A short Asian maid with a nametag that read 'Molly' smiled sweetly at her. "Well, Indie Rienne, who are you?"

Gosh, how to answer a question like that… "Umm… well, I'm an artist, a writer and a musician. Books are my life, but animals and children are a close second… Let's see… I try to be unique but not in any crazy ways like weird hair colors or anything… " Indie murmured. Not sure what else to do or say, she shrugged her shoulders and her maids set to work.

They mostly kept the makeup at a minimum. The only used a small amount of blusher to put some color in her pale cheeks, used enough mascara to make her eyelashes long and dark, but not enough that you could easily tell it was makeup. They covered up the bags under her eyes she had from reading late into the night, and made her eyebrows darker and more arched. Last of all, they put some thin eyeliner on her top lids to make her a little bit more noticeable. You had to look very closely to see a big difference, but Indie didn't mind that. She liked the natural look.

Next was her hair. Indie didn't want to dye it or even get it cut short. She didn't know if curls would suit her and she had a feeling bangs would annoy her, so the maids just decided to style it. Ruby, a redhead with cold blue eyes and frown wrinkles even at her early age, looked at Indie disdainfully. Knowing that she was probably making the maid's lives harder by not knowing what she wanted, she suddenly changed her mind and told them she wouldn't mind highlights, and that maybe getting it cut and curled wasn't such a bad idea. They visibly brightened at this. Well, Molly and mousy brown did. Ruby pretended she hadn't heard her.

When she next looked in the mirror, she grinned at her reflection. Her hair before had been elbow- length, but it had been shortened to shoulder-blade- length and delicately curled into beachy waves. She loved it, and when she said so, both Molly and mousy brown grinned, though Ruby stubbornly refused to smile.

Ruby lifted her hair away from her ears and clucked in disapproval. "No piercings, which means no earrings." Her eyes brightened for a moment and she ran off.

Molly shook her head at her retreating fellow maid. At Indie's questioning look she explained, "Ruby will be back with some earrings and one of those little guns you get your ears pierced with. It's what she used to do for a living; poor girl misses her past too much." Laughing at Indie's worried expression, the maid rushed to reassure her. "Don't worry, you don't _have_ to get your ears pierced."

Indie thought about it. "Actually, I don't think it's a bad idea." Besides, maybe this would make Ruby finally smile.

She soon returned and, just as Molly had predicted, had two little guns and a bag full of earrings with her. Without bothering to ask, she knelt down beside Indie and estimated where to pierce her ears. Behind her, Molly rolled her eyes playfully, and Indie allowed herself to relax.

After picking a pair of medium- sized studs that matched her sea- green eyes, she closed her eyes and let Ruby do her job. When the maid asked her if she could do another set above the first, Indie couldn't refuse, and picked pearls that were slightly smaller than the first studs. It didn't really hurt, was pretty, and got close to making Ruby smile, so Indie loved it.

She got a small silver hoop high up in her right ear and two tiny studs- one a sapphire and one a diamond- right where the hoop was but in her left ear, not her right. And, finally, Ruby smiled. Indie looked in the mirror, holding her hair away from her ears, to see all the little stones winking at her like colored stars. It didn't look half bad, and it would make her unique. And if it made Ruby happy, than it made Indie happy, too. "I love it," she said, turning away from the mirror and facing a now bright- eyed maid. "Thank you, Ruby!" Ruby blushed and smiled even wider. Indie couldn't help but feel that she had created a miracle just in that smile.

Molly grinned at her expression. "Now all that's left to do is style your hair." She looked at her questioningly.

"Um. I like braids?" Even though it was more question than answer, Molly happily started braiding her hair in a crown braid- careful to leave a few strands artfully framing her face, which she then curled- and told Ruby and mousy brown to go find a dress.

Indie perked up at this. "A dress? Can I make my own?" Give her some fabric and a sewing machine and Indie would work on her project for hours. She had often used Sarah's sewing machine to make clothes for her and Cecily. She wondered how her twin was doing…

* * *

Cecily had been thinking about what she would wear once she arrived at the palace the whole plane ride over, but she still hadn't any idea what she was supposed to wear; she only ever wore leggings and long- sleeved tops. She considered it a waste of time to busy yourself coming up with the perfect outfit every morning. Deciding it was probably best to just give her maids free reign, she glanced back at the mirror as they all scurried off to find dresses that would suit her.

The maids had made her face look sharp and angular and her eyes deep and sparkly, and had even put her moonlight- blonde hair up in an intricate updo. For once, she was actually… noticeable. She had to hand it to the maids; Cecily looked mysterious and beautiful, and it was enough to make her brighten and her smiles genuine, even when she didn't feel like smiling. Goodness, who even _was_ she?

The maids were back with three beautiful dresses, in dark colors just as Cecily had requested, but she froze in horror. They all had short sleeves. "Do you have anything with longer sleeves? I would prefer to keep my arms covered," Cecily said politely.

"Why?" Asked the youngest of her three maids. Cecily thought her name was Abby, and had noticed that she was too curious for her own good; certainly too curios to be working in the palace.

Sighing, Cecily rolled up one of her sleeves to reveal bruised, ugly, scarred flesh with a few burn marks and ugly gashes where her cuts had become infected. Abby dropped the dress she was holding in surprise. Cecily probably shouldn't have shown them, but it felt so good to know that someone else had seen them other than her and her father.

"You're… so scarred… " Abby whispered, so quietly that Cecily almost didn't hear her. If only they were all scars. Scars, at least, symbolized that whatever had caused them had long since been over, but most of her wounds were recent. Besides, her skin was pale enough that the silvery- white scars were only visible in the sun, and hardly even then. But you'd have to be blind to miss the bruises, burns, and the oddly- colored cuts.

Without a word, two of her maids hurried off with the dresses, but Abby stood there, petrified, and it occurred to Cecily that she shouldn't have shown someone so young such horrors. Suddenly feeling horribly guilty, Cecily bent down to Abby's height and gently laid her hand on the girl's shoulder. Her sister was one hundred times better than her at comforting people, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. "It's alright," she murmured. "I'm okay. Wounds heal." It wasn't much, but it was the best she could do, and Abby seemed a little reassured, as well.

The maids returned soon after that, with a lovely silky deep blue gown with long sleeves that were pointed at the knuckles. They had correctly assumed that she would need a dress that also covered her legs and torso. It flowed in graceful waves down to her ankles. They had also brought her white ballet flats, in case her feet were as broken as the rest of her and she couldn't wear heels. _Great. Now they think I'm some fragile doll_. But still, she couldn't help but feel touched. Heels were a pain, anyway.

She changed quickly and left to take her 'after' photo and spotted Indie waiting patiently in line. Her hair was in a beautiful braid and she was wearing a strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline and elegant silky waves that wrapped themselves around her legs when she walked forwards. The coloring- sunset orange and pink- made her look less pale and her hair shone like spun gold. She looked great. But that wasn't what Cecily was most concerned about.

Rushing up to her sister, she whispered, shocked, "Your ears!" Though she had kept her voice low, it was enough to earn the two girls a few curious glances and Indie's ears tinged pink.

"Oh, well, you see… one of my maids offered to pierce my ears for me and I thought it would make her happy, so I let her and actually it didn't hurt one bit and I think it's kind of pretty; it might make me stand out from the other girls, too. I just thought it was unique and-" Indie always ranted on like this when she was nervous, and this time was no exception, but before she could go any further, Cecily cut her off with a smile.

"Don't worry; I like it." She was surprised to find that her words rang true. The earrings weren't big enough to be too much or too noticeable, and they were all pretty yet subtle colors. It suited her sister. She was rewarded for her kind words with a hundred watt smile from Indie before she realized it was her turn to get her photo taken.

"I should go, now," Indie murmured, looking disappointed that their time together was being cut short.

Cecily felt her heart tighten, and, in a moment of weakness, she wrapped her arms around her sister in a rare display of affection. "Love you," she whispered in Indie's newly- jeweled ear.

"Love you, too," she whispered back, gently pulling away. She walked towards the camera man and called out behind her, "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Cecily mumbled.

* * *

Camille was going to need a bucket full of luck to survive her time at the palace. She hadn't even been there a full day yet and already the place was killing her. Not only was she sure to get lost in the huge palace, but her maids didn't even know her yet and still somehow had something against her; they had taken their sweet time screwing up on her makeup, and she had been waiting for forever for them to return with a dress.

To think! Camille despised having to wear such girly things, but in that moment she would have begged for a dress- even if it had frills, sequins, flowers, and was pink- just so she could move on and get her picture taken. It really was torture. If the maids didn't return soon, she would die of boredom.

On top of that, she had literally had to get in a fist fight with one of the guards to keep her favorite, thigh- high boots (which she won, much to the guard's embarrassment) when he tried to confiscate them. Sighing, she stared at the reflection of herself and allowed a small the maids had always don't the exact opposite of what she asked, she had eventually gotten them to make her- well, gorgeous.

She had minimum eyeliner, but the smokey eye shadow made up for that and it made her look dark and intimidating, but beautiful at the same time. Her cheekbones were more pronounced and dark lipstick drew attention to her curvy lips. Her hair had been left down, but now her ringlets were perfect and wild at the same time, as opposed to just wild and frizzy. Her caramel skin looked flawless and her green eyes bright.

Camille still had her hard- won boots on, but they matched the look and her personality. They were also way more comfortable than high heels.

When her maids finally returned, Camille was relieved that the two- piece dress they had brought with them was one that she liked, would look good with her coloring, figure, and makeup, and would also allow her to continue wearing her blessed boots. Perhaps they weren't so terrible after all…

I was simple, but Camille wasn't really trying to impress anyone, so it didn't need to be over- the- top- fancy. The top was light gray and silky with pearls at the generously low neckline (though it wasn't so low as to be slutty, thankfully), and the skirt was black with dark blue accents and wasn't so long that she would trip over it. "Perfect," she said, nearly ripping the outfit from one of the maid's hands. She hadn't meant to be rude, but she couldn't help it; she had been waiting so long for the dress, all her manners had left her.

She quickly scurried off to get changed and returned to give her maids a twirl. "I love it! Thank you, you guys!" When one of them frowned at this, Camille didn't feel so bad about snatching the outfit from her. What had she done to make them dislike her so much, anyway? Was it because she kept calling them 'guys'? But she always called everyone 'guys'... Besides, what was she supposed to say, 'girls'?

Seeing as the maids were unlikely to read her mind and then politely answer her, Camille snorted and stalked off towards the line of girls waiting to get their photos taken, praying that she didn't seem too haughty and rude. After taking a few photos, she walked past the camera stations and caught her reflection in one of the many mirrors again. She looked dangerous, but in a good way and slightly cheeky and playful. Mostly, though, she looked beautiful. _Look out, Prince Charming_ , she thought, _here I come_.

 **A/N: To anyone who actually reads all this, I am officially impressed that you have the patience for it. Okay… I'm sorry,** Jcuret98 **, that Camille's chapter wasn't as long as the twins' but I don't feel comfortable making any big changes to any characters apart from my own. Thank you to** Booki (guest) **for creating the character Nia, but you didn't mention why she entered the Selection in the first place, and it will be difficult to write your character well without that information, so could you please review again why she entered? Sorry for any inconveniences!**

 **This is a SYOC story, and I have to count on all you wonderful readers out there to make me some interesting ones. I have six right now and am accepting four more so please make these ones count! Try to make them unique so they can help the plot along a little. Remember, not everyone in the Selection is necessarily nice *hint, hint.* The more unique your character is, the further they will go in the competition. Also, reviewing lots will certainly not hurt your character one bit.**

 **I really need some feedback on how I'm doing with these characters cause it's my first SYOC story (and actually first story in general) and I'm really afraid of portraying the characters wrong. As always, I love reviews. They're what keep me writing these chapters at 11:26. Gosh, I should probably go to sleep.**

 **Anywho, thank you to** DivingLove **,** Fryllabrille201 **,** Jcuret98 **,** MastaGamerita **, and** Zayngel22 **for following my story. I'm sorry if I got any of your names wrong. XP**

 **Thank you to my favoriter,** DivingLove **(again)**

Jcuret98 **, thanks for creating Camille,** Lady Crystal Beach **for creating Sera,** Fryllabrille **for Alda, and** Booki (guest) **for Nia (you will see the last two in the next chapter).**

 **Not that you really need to know, but these are my reviewers:** Booki **,** Lady Crystal Beach **, and** Zayngel22 **. I love you guys forever.**

 **Please review! ;)**

 **-M**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey, Booki. I'm sorry I asked you for Nia's reason for entering even though you already had it. I just skimmed it at first and didn't see it. I'll be sure to look closer next time. Anyway, sorry again about that it was very silly of me. Thanks for replying anyway, though! ;)**

 **Anyway, here's the next chapter with Sera, Alda, and Nia in it.**

 **Thank you to** DivingLove **,** Fryllabrille201 **,** Jcuret98 **,** MastaGamerita **, and** Zayngel22 **and** buttercup890 **for following my story.**

 **Thank you to my favoriter,** DivingLove **(again)**

Jcuret98 **, thanks for creating Camille,** Lady Crystal Beach **for creating Sera,** Fryllabrille **for Alda, and** Booki (guest) **for Nia**

 **These are my reviewers:** Booki **,** Lady Crystal Beach **,** Zayngel22, MastaGamerit, Jcuret98 **and** Frllabrille. **Thank you all so much ! ;)**

 **Please keep creating great characters. I am still accepting four more.**

 **-M**

Sera hardly remembered the trip from her house to the royal palace- though she assumed it was quite hectic, if the bags under her eyes and the slight gray pallor to her face were any clue- she was too busy being depressed. At first, she had looked everywhere for her sister Clara, the thought of redeeming herself giving her a new purpose. But she was nowhere to be found. She hadn't even bothered to say goodbye…

"Hey," the camera man called to her, "why do you look like you're about to cry? You look gorgeous! Smile!" Sera knew he was probably only trying to get a decent shot of her so he could move on with his life, but it still made her brighten a little bit.

Despite the fact that she simply couldn't get her mind off of the rift between her and her sister, she really did feel like a princess. Throughout her makeover, her maids had probably been terrified that they would do something to her appearance that she wouldn't like; she couldn't come up with anything clever and witty to say when they had asked her who she wanted to be in the Selection and she just kind of froze up.

Usually she was always chatty and would have been happy to give the maids real answers, but leaving her home and her family… it was like she had lost an important limb, or had shed her skin and now she was opened up like a fresh wound, full of insecurities and pain. She hadn't managed to say two words to her poor maids, and mostly just shrugged at them the whole time.

Mentally thanking the Gods that they had good taste in clothing and makeup, Sera brushed her hands lightly over her light blue, long gown that flowed down to her ankles in graceful waves of silk, and went to the corner of the room where several other girls were waiting. The maids had put on a generous amount of makeup when they were taking care of her appearance, but what she was wearing was nothing compared to some of these girls.

"Hey!" one of the girls called, cheerfully, waving Sera over.

The girl had golden hair braided around her head and a sunset- colored dress on. Her sea- green eyes sparkled and she smiled warmly. "My name's Indie," she said. "It's nice to meet you!"

Sera swallowed. _Please, voice, this would be an excellent time to start working again._ "My name is Sera. It's nice to meet you, too." Only then did she notice the girl next to her was an exact mirror image of Indie, albeit her hair was paler.

"This is my twin sister, Cecily," Indie announced. Cecily grumbled something that Sera assumed was polite and went back to reading the book cradled in her arms.

"So… what exactly are we waiting for?" Sera asked, genuinely curios. She'd forgotten to listen to the instructions they had received from one of the staff, and so she had no idea what they were all going to be doing for the rest of the day.

Indie smiled knowingly. "Kinda hard to pay attention when you just left home, huh?" She suddenly got a soft, comforting look in her eye that told Sera that she understood how she felt. "We're waiting for their escort to go take them on a quick tour."

"Wait," Sera said, confused, " _their_ escort? As in, not including us?"

The other girl, Cecily, frowned and looked up from her book. "Yeah, they only take ten at a time. There are at least twenty of us here." She pointed to the girls closest to the door. "They'll be the first to leave for the tour."

As if to clarify this, a short lady in a far-too-short-dress and obviously dyed blonde hair waved the girls nearest to the door and they all got up to follow her.

"Okay," Sera said, frowning, "I don't think so." She dragged to twins up and off their seats and almost caused Cecily to drop her book (which she scowled at Sera for) and started walking with them through the door with ten other girls, daring someone to put her back in her place. No one even noticed. "There. Now we have our tour."

Indie looked nervous yet excited as she whispered, "That definitely wasn't allowed." Cecily giggled at this, which seemed out of character for her.

"They won't notice three extra girls tagging along, anyway," Sera said, reveling in the professional noise of her heels hitting against the tile flooring as she walked. She had only just met the twins, but already she was feeling more like herself in their presence. Perhaps she had already found two good friends in the Selection.

During the tour, their escort, Vivian, only actually showed them half of the palace, including the Women's room, the Dining Room, and their rooms, which took up nearly two floors. They were instructed never to go to the fourth- and last- floor (the royals' chambers) unless given an invitation to.

Then they were all shown to their rooms as Vivian scurried away to do the same thing again but with ten different girls. How tiresome her job must be. How tiresome _everyone's_ jobs at the palace must be with all the Selected arriving.

She was happy to find that her room was close to Indie's and Cecily's. Also, the actual room wasn't half bad. The walls were light blue, with the illusion that it was the sky, stretching out in all directions for miles. The effect made the room very spacious and the double bed that was soft and heavenly and everything you could want in a bed had silk hanging around it like clouds and colorful cushions that Sera didn't really know what to do with- she certainly didn't need them all to _sleep_. There was a marble desk against the wall with intricate carvings on it that had some paper and some pen and pencils left on it.

The closet was stocked up with silky, long pastel colored gowns that Sera couldn't help but fall in love with. She marveled at the room for a little longer before settling down at the desk and writing to her family. Surely she could send them letters? She supposed she was going to have to ask the prince tomorrow. Wishing she had payed more attention earlier, she prayed that she wasn't wasting her time as she wrote a letter to her parents telling them about her experiences so far, one to Zizi asking jokingly if she had any more boys after her yet and reminding her that Brian was a jerk. The last letter was the hardest to write and the longest by far.

In Clara's letter, she wrote how sorry she was about signing up for the Selection and possibly stealing her chance to shine. Sera wrote about the palace and poured all her emotions out onto the page about being too depressed about this rift between them to fully enjoy herself. She then told her what it was like being Selected and did her best to describe the feeling of being a princess and told her about her newfound friends, Indie and Cecily. She begged her to write her back several times and asked how things were at the family restaurant now that she had left.

Feeling satisfied that she had at least made an effort to mend her relationship with her sister, she got up from the desk and stretched her limbs, bringing feeling back into her numb wrist and going to find the twins.

She stopped outside of Indie's room and knocked on the door, but there was no response. After a few more minutes of waiting, she stepped inside to find the room empty. Aside from the piano, guitarre, art supplies and sewing machine on top of her desk, the room looked exactly the same.

Deciding that she had probably gone to her twin's room, Sera went next door and knocked.

"Come in!" Cecily called.

Sera did as she was told and was greeted by heaps and heaps of books and Cecily sitting on her bed, studying. Indie was nowhere in sight. "Did you lose your twin?" Sera joked, expecting Cecily to roll her eyes and tell her that Indie was in the bathroom or something.

Instead, cecily looked up from her book, brow furrowed in concern and panic lighting up her eyes. "I thought she was with you."

* * *

Alda kindly pretended not to notice when three extra girls snuck out the door along with the ten girls that were intended to take a tour of the palace. How very impatient of them! Surely waiting for their escort to return wasn't too much for them? Alda suspected the three of them wouldn't be around much longer; you can't get away with such disrespect at a palace, Selected or no.

She resisted the urge to snort and instead crossed her legs and folded her hands elegantly in her lap. Sure, she didn't look like the most elegant girl here, but she could still act like she did.

Alda's dress wasn't long enough to be necessarily elegant, but it wasn't short enough to be slutty- around knee- length and in dark midnight blue with purplish accents. The color made her look paler than she was, but some foundation had fixed that. Her light blue eyes looked almost like they glowed thanks to the dark coloring, and her freckles were ever- present, spattered over her nose like stars. Her wavy brown hair had been left in perfect curls to her mid- back and she wore dark flats (she wasn't fond of heels). She had refused the rings, bracelets, and fancy clip- on earrings thrust in her face by her maids in favor of a lovely but simple necklace; a thin, silver chain with a medium- sized dark sapphire.

She was patiently waiting when another one of the Selected collapsed dramatically onto a sofa with a sigh, announcing her arrival to everyone in a manner that made it look like she hadn't meant to at all. Since there was no one else was sitting on the sofa, she re- situated herself so that she lay across the whole thing, her feet hanging off the edge and her hands behind her head. Her curly black hair had probably been perfect before, but now it was wild and frizzy.

When she saw Alda staring at her, she smiled and called, "Hi, I'm Camille. What's your name?"

Everyone's attention turned to the two girls and Alda swallowed. Camille didn't seem to notice. The girl's confidence absolutely screamed '2,' but her mannerisms and the fact that she was wearing boots instead of heels made Alda think that she wasn't that high in caste. She was far too embarrassed and prideful to ask, though, so instead Alda stood and walked towards the girl, so that their conversation could be a little more private.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Camille," Alda said, everything about her suddenly formal because of her nerves. "My name is Griselda Layfield, though I usually go by Alda. I feel that I must inform you that speaking so loudly in a room full of other people will attract quite a lot of attention. So, if you don't mind me saying, I think you should consider keeping your voice down and when trying to converse with the other Selected, perhaps you should go greet them instead of calling to them from across the room. I also ask you to consider sitting properly so that the sofa may be put to use seating more than just one person." With some effort, Alda managed to clamp her mouth shut, but the damage was already done. Whenever she had to talk to someone she wasn't familiar with, she was always extremely formal and judgemental. She just couldn't help it.

Camille looked thoroughly annoyed with her. "The one good thing about this Selection is that I got away from my judgemental mother. I don't need you telling me to be a proper lady as well. Besides, I don't think any of these guys-" she gestured to the room full of Selected- "really mind someone being loud, and there are enough seats for everyone as is. I don't need to make any more room. Can't a girl have a little comfort here?" She snorted in annoyance, and Alda assumed that the girl didn't want to hear her response.

As she walked back to her seat, she could feel a pair of forest- green eyes burning holes into her back the whole seven steps it took her to get back to the little chair that she had occupied. She suspected that she had already made an enemy.

She had entered the Selection for two reasons: she was fascinated to learn more about the royal family, and she was fascinated with the prospect of falling in love. But was a friend too much to ask for as well? Alda sorely missed her two friends, still back in Dakota, Priscilla Leyton and Gwendolyn Rust. The Selection apparently was going to be way more difficult than she had originally thought.

* * *

Nia stared curiously at two girls bickering from her corner of the room. A curly- haired girl with caramel skin wearing boots was propped up on a sofa, taking up all the space by using it as a bed. The other girl seemed very civilized and formal, and was probably trying to get the former to sit properly, but she wasn't having any of it. After a while, the formal one, sporting a dark dress and flats, returned to her seat. Nia studies the two of them temporarily. They were complete opposites. The one in the dark dress sat with a straight spine, her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands left delicately in her lap. The curly- haired one (who had announced to the whole room that her name was Camille not long before) had her hands behind her head and looked genuinely carefree.

Playing with a strand of her long, dark hair, Nia let out a little giggle, and thought back to the makeovers. She had kept her makeup fairly light. Her caramel skin looked flawless because of something the maids had done to it when Nia was watching another Selected girl get her hair styled and her dark eyes had been outlined with thin, black eyeliner. That was it, though.

Her strapless dress was simple, too. It was a light blue shade to contrast with her dark hair and eyes with a sweetheart neckline and went just below her knees, coupled with white pumps.

Camille noticed her giggling- fest and did exactly what she did to the formal girl, earning a glare from said formal girl and Nia got up, a small smile on her face.

She walked over to greet the latest source of gossip and Camille smiled at her, on purposely speaking very loudly when she said. "Hi! What's your name?"

Nia flashed her a beautiful smile before answering, "My name is Nia, or Nee. Whichever you prefer."

"Cool. It's nice to meet you, Nia!" Then, a little more quietly, "I love your hair."

Nia's hair was in a dutch braid headband with some shorter strands of hair framing her face. The rest of her hair was done up in a stylish side bun. After thanking Camille, she asked, "So what was going on with you and…"

"She said her name was Griselda, but she goes by Alda." Camille shot Alda a scathing glare, but the girl had ceased to pay attention. Nia suspected that it was largely due to this fact that she swung her legs off the sofa, giving Nia space to sit next to her. "She was just being judgmental. And then I overreacted…" she trailed off and gave Nia a sheepish grin. "It was all downhill from there."

"So it was all just a misunderstanding?" Nia asked, cocking her head.

Camille shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Surely you should just apologize, then?"

The other girl looked at her as if she had lost her mind and snorted. "Right, and then we'll be _BFF's_ and do _everything_ together, right?"

Nia was about to respond when an exhausted- looking Vivian walked through the doors, gesturing for the next round of girls to follow her. Nia, Camille and Alda set off for their first real impression of the palace.

 **A/N: What did you think? Who is your favorite character so far (other than one you created, obviously.) Please keep giving me great feedback; It may help the next chapter along. The form and rules for the SYOC are on my profile, now. Sorry it took so long.**

 **Thank you to** DivingLove **,** Fryllabrille201 **,** Jcuret98 **,** MastaGamerita **, and** Zayngel22 **and** buttercup890 **for following my story.**

 **Thank you to my favoriter,** DivingLove **(again)**

Jcuret98 **, thanks for creating Camille,** Lady Crystal Beach **for creating Sera,** Fryllabrille **for Alda, and** Booki (guest) **for Nia**

 **These are my reviewers:** Booki **,** Lady Crystal Beach **,** Zayngel22, MastaGamerit, Jcuret98 **and** Frllabrille. **Thank you all so much ! ;)**

 **-M**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: In this chapter, you'll find out who falls in love with the wrong prince, and find out the secrets behind Cecily's scars. Things between Sera and Clara will get more interesting as well. In the next chapter, I'll write Camille, Nia, Alda, and any new characters. I have already received one, but I needed to post this chapter first. I'm only accepting three more characters, now, so make them count! ;)**

Jcuret98 **, thanks for creating Camille,** Lady Crystal Beach **for creating Sera,** Fryllabrille **for Alda, and** Booki (guest) **for Nia and thesparklingjewel for** Bell, **who you will see in the next chapter.**

 **These are my reviewers:** Booki **,** Lady Crystal Beach **,** Zayngel22, MastaGamerit, Jcuret98 **and** Fryllabrille. **Thank you all so much ! ;)**

 **-M**

Indie was suffocating. Though the palace was absolutely huge, her claustrophobia had kicked in unexpectedly and suddenly, she just needed to get _out_. Try as she might, she found that it was impossible to will a window in her room into existence. She had abandoned the cute high heels she had been wearing long ago, and she was running top- speed around the palace barefoot, trying to find an exit.

Unfortunately, when she finally found one, it was being guarded. Trying to pull herself together, she tried to give the guards her best smile and asked politely if they wouldn't mind her going outside for a short while.

When they told her that she needed permission to go outside, and gave her little more than a sympathetic smile, it was all Indie could do to keep herself from letting out a string of choice words right then and there.

She was saved from having to literally get down on her knees and beg when a voice behind her asked, "What's going on?" It sounded like he expected it to be some kind of huge inconvenience for him. Indie looked over her shoulder to see a tall man with dark hair and a face half obscured from view by shadows. _Prince Ethan?_ "Your Highness!" she sqeaked, dropping into a sloppy and shocked curtsy.

The prince snorted and waved to the guards to let her through. Instantly, she brightened at her newfound freedom. She didn't even notice when the prince followed her through the door. She was too busy breathing in clean air.

She walked as far away from the palace as she dared, and sat down on the grass, leaning back until she was looking up at a sky full of stars. She started playing with the braid and pulling it loose, shaking out her hair, now in beachy curls, and letting it fall over her shoulders. The prince settled down next to her, making her jump. "So, why the rush to get out of the palace?"

Indie felt her cheeks heat up. "Oh… I don't know, I just needed to breathe again, I guess." She still hadn't looked him in the eye.

He chuckled and leaned back all the way, his hands behind his head. "You and me both. What's your name, princess?"

Though Indie didn't care for her new nickname, she bit back a harsh retort. He was a royal; she didn't want to make him mad. "Indie," she replied, instead.

"It's nice to meet you, Indie." She finally turned over on her side and looked him in the eye, surprised to find that they were grey, not hazel with gold flecks in them.

Shocked, she jumped to her feet. "P- prince Jaxon?! I thought-"

"You thought I was my brother." Indie could no longer look at him, focusing on the suddenly fascinating grass, but somehow she knew that he was wearing a pained smirk and she wondered what was between the two princes for him to react so oddly at the mention of Prince Ethan. Instead of asking, she swallowed, positive that her voice no longer worked. All she could manage was a brisk nod of her head. For some reason, looking at this prince seemed dangerous. She wasn't here for him, anyway.

"Indie?" At the mention of her name, she looked over her shoulder to see Cecily and Sera running towards her, looking completely out of breath, the two guards that were guarding the door not far behind. She spun around again, but Prince Jaxon was gone.

Sera just seemed to be relieved to have found her, but Cecily was absolutely _furious_. "You scared me half to death!" Wincing, Indie prepared herself for a major scolding. Instead, though, all the fight seemed to leave her twin and she was bombarded with a hug. "Don't ever do that to me again." Indie murmured that she wouldn't, unable to keep from smiling.

Once Cecily pulled away, the guards were upon them. One of them roughly took hold of Cecily's arm and Indie didn't miss her gasp of pain, though it was cut short when she bit down hard on her lip in an attempt to keep the pained noises from escaping.

Indie was about to yell at the guard, but Sera beat her to it. "Hey! You shouldn't handle one of the Selected so roughly!" Her voice held the unmistakable note of warning in her voice.

The guard looked confused. "I wasn't-"

Cecily cut him off. "It's not him. I'm just-" she bit her lip again, refusing to make eye contact with Indie. Sera looked like she wanted to say something, but Cecily gave her a small shake of her head.

The guard released his hold on her, looking guilty. "I'm afraid you'll have to go back inside, now," the second guard, who had remained silent until now, said.

Sera obviously wanted to argue, still mad about Cecily getting hurt, but she let it slide. The three of them walked back towards the palace together, the guards following behind them- just in case.

It occurred to Indie that it was very bothersome that the palace was seeming more and more like a cage; you needed permission to leave, and even then, you weren't allowed to stray too far from the palace. Shouldn't they be more focused on keeping people out of the palace, not in it? Or were they afraid of an enemy within the walls of the palace? That thought was even more disturbing. It was suffocating. How could anyone live here without feeling trapped?

 _Who's to say they don't feel trapped?_ Indie thought back to those grey eyes and the pain in Prince Jaxon's voice. She doubted she was getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

As soon as she entered the room, all of Sera's attention was on the letter on her desk. Gosh, royal-mail-delivery must be _fast_. Sera had only sent her letters yesterday to her family. Then she realized it might not be from them at all. She didn't know who it was from, but she held out hope that it was from her family. More specifically, from Clara, saying that she forgave her.

She soon found out that it was from Zizi instead, and did her best to swallow her disappointment. The letter was very short. Only three words, but still enough to set her heart hammering and make her throat close up. Her blood went cold and her fingers went numb and suddenly she couldn't keep a hold of the letter any more and it fluttered to the ground at her feet. The three words were clearly visible.

 _Clara ran away._

That was it, nothing else. Zizi had obviously sent this in a rush. Sera couldn't believe it. Why would Clara do this? Was it somehow her fault, just like it had been when she had been Selected? She couldn't breathe.

To shut out the pain, she went to Cecily's room for an explanation that would hopefully serve as a distraction.

* * *

Cecily unconsciously rubbed her arm where the guard had held her. It hadn't been his fault; she was just too fragile and broken to be handled. She wished she was stronger, she wished she had been able to fight back, to prevent the numerous beatings dealt to her. But she couldn't. She was weak, useless, broken, ruined.

Alone in the darkness of her room, she felt safe enough to let the long- suppressed tears finally fall. She had learned long ago that it was best to cry silently, and old habits died hard, so there was no risk of someone hearing her.

She was still crying when Sera found her, with her arms hugging her legs close to her body, sitting on the end of her bed. Even in the darkness, Sera saw her tears, and her eyes widened with worry and concern. Rushing to her side, she cradled Cecily in a gentle hug, as if she were made of porcelain. And for the first time in her life, Cecily let herself be comforted and just cried.

Sera had obviously done this before, Cecily realized, when her friend smoothed her hair, and murmured what were probably comforting words; the ringing in Cecily's ears when the flashbacks started prevented her from hearing what she was saying.

Once she finally got a hold of herself, she pulled away from Sera- somewhat reluctantly- and wiped her cheeks and nose on the end of her sleeve. Knowing that she owed Sera an explanation, she sniffed twice and started to prepare herself. She had only ever told two other people what she was about to tell Sera. Sure, she had showed her maids her abused arms, but she hadn't explained what was behind them.

"Indie doesn't know," she blurted, "and I want to keep it that way." Sera hesitated, not wanting to keep anything from one of her newfound friends, but nodded anyway. And so Cecily started telling her dark story. "Our mother died at childbirth, and ever since we were old enough to talk, Father started to blame me and Indie for her death. Thankfully, Indie didn't realize this, and I was able to keep his rage directed at me, until in his mind, Indie didn't even exist; it was all my fault."

She swallowed, remembering what it had felt like to believe for most of her childhood that she had been responsible for her own mother's death. Cecily had often had nightmares about meeting her mother, thinking that she, too, would blame her daughter for her death. Maybe she did. Cecily would never know. Sera slid her hand into her's and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Cecily continued.

"Whenever Indie left the house, and it was just the two of us, he would hit me. Again and again." She shuddered. "But soon that wasn't enough, and it grew boring for him. He used other methods, from rusty knives to pokers that had been held over the fire too long. But he was always careful to inflict pain where others couldn't see it." Now that she had started talking, she couldn't seem to be able to stop. It was as if a dam had burst and all her ugly secrets were spilling out.

"Then I met someone. His name was James. He was tall, with blonde hair and brown eyes that I had thought were kind. We fell in love, or at least I did. James was an excellent listener, and he was the only thing keeping away the nightmares and flashbacks. I had foolishly thought that I would run away from home, and live with him. But then I caught him-" she winced, still not quite over James- "with another girl. I shared my pain with him, and he cheated on me." Up until now, her voice had remained relatively even, but here it quivered.

"But I wouldn't let him ruin my idea of love, for if love wasn't real, then how could I ever find happiness? I was fourteen, and it took me two years to meet someone else. "Liam was more realistic. He was a rebel, and though I often saw anger in his eyes, I had assumed that that anger would only ever be directed at the castes. He told me one night that he loved me, and planned on taking me away from the castes and my abusive father. I can't put into words how happy that made me. Then, later, he left me alone with some of his friends and they were all drunk. One of them started tugging at my skirt and had me backed up against the wall. It didn't take long for the rest of his friends to join him." Throughout her story, she had kept her gaze firmly fixated on her bare feet, and she certainly didn't look up to see Sera's reaction now, though Cecily could feel her hand tighten in horror.

"Thankfully, I managed to escape, but I no longer trusted Liam. I couldn't help but wonder if he knew his friends would react so. Later on, he managed to find me again, and I told him I never to see him again. Then I saw the anger in his eyes. I had never been so afraid before in that moment. At least with my father, I had expected it, and with James, I had moved on. But despite my distrust for him, I loved Liam, too. And I knew that if I lost him, I would never be able to move on. Not again. He hit me, and that was all it took. I ran. Back to my abusive father, back to studying all night to distract myself, back to keeping silent and shielding my sister. I haven't seen Liam since, or James, and my father hasn't changed one bit. Eventually, I stopped fighting him and built this wall around myself that made it so that, unless it meant sharing my secret, the only person I could let see me for who I was was Indie."

"That's why I'm here, because all I have left is my love for my sister, but I can't protect her from this world as just a six. But if I become queen… I can protect people like her, who still have their whole lives ahead of them, and haven't yet known such pain." That, and she wanted the chance to be safe behind the palace walls. Walls between her and the harsh world that she didn't have to build herself.

Sera didn't miss a beat. "Shouldn't you be trying to find happiness for yourself?" she asked softly.

Cecily finally looked her friend in the eye. "After Liam, I gave up on love and happiness," she replied.

"Does anyone else know?"

She shrugged. "My maids have seen my scars, but since Liam, I've never told anyone my story; everyone that I tell ends up hurting me." Which was another reason that she hadn't told Indie yet. Not only did she want to shield Indie from the truth that their father was a monster, but if Indie did anything to hurt her, she didn't think she'd be able to live with the knowledge that she was obviously unlovable as herself. She had to pretend she was someone else, someone not ruined.

Sera gently put a hand on her shoulder, eyes full of understanding. "I will never hurt you," she vowed. Cecily really hoped that she wouldn't, because by telling her this, she had suddenly become very attached to Sera.

 **A/N: Wow, that was depressing to write. I feel so bad for Cecily! :( and Sera, too. By the way, I know her part in this chapter was short (sorry,** Lady Crystal Beach **) but you'll see more of her later. Also, any guesses as to who's going to fall in love with the wrong prince? ;)**

 **Keep reviewing! Just because your character is one of the ten doesn't mean that they are necessarily safe! Also, the feedback is really helpful.**

 **Thank you to** DivingLove **,** Fryllabrille201 **,** Jcuret98 **,** MastaGamerita **, and** Zayngel22 **and** buttercup890 **for following my story.**

 **Thank you to my favoriter,** DivingLove **(again)**

Jcuret98 **, thanks for creating Camille,** Lady Crystal Beach **for creating Sera,** Fryllabrille **for Alda, and** Booki (guest) **for Nia**

 **These are my reviewers:** Booki **,** Lady Crystal Beach **,** Zayngel22, MastaGamerit, Jcuret98 **and** Frllabrille. **Thank you all so much ! ;)**

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	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait and I really don't have any great excuses. Forgive me? Anyway, I'll try to keep updating but I'm a little busy...sorry. Again. Also, I know Cecily's chapter was sad, and I'm sorry about that. And I warn you, that's not the end of it. I just typically write slightly depressing things, and this will probably be no exception. As for the chapter, it's about the girls' interviews. Not all of them, though. The girls in the chapter are Camille, Sera, Alda, and Alice (you'll see). I'm only accepting ONE MORE CHARACTER for the SYOC, so if you want to submit a character, you'll have to do it soon.**

 **To my lovely reviewers:** Booki, Lady Crystal Beach, MastaGamerita, ThatscencenboyXD **(who also reviewed my last chapter, I just didn't see it. Sorry!)** , and Fryllabrille201

 **-M**

Camille was having the time of her life. _Not_. Stupid, stuck up Prince was really dragging this out. She'd been ready for an hour, as had everyone else, and yet still they awaited their interviews with him.

The Woman's Room was extremely boring, and Camille didn't quite understand what it's purpose was. Sure, you could chat with all your lady- friends without interrupted by guys, but do you really need a whole separate room for that? No. No, you did not. Camille thought that it was probably just to keep them all at bay and make sure they didn't get into too much trouble. She sighed and swung her legs up onto the couch, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep.

Sleep had almost reached her when someone slammed open the door, and Camille, startled, was sent sprawling to the floor with a yelp. Everyone's eyes turned towards her, including the princes'. He blinked at her. Twice. Probably to make sure she was real.

Grumbling, she got to her feet and retook her original place on the couch, hands behind her head, ankles crossed, and feet hanging over the edge of the couch. He watched every move she made, and she smirked. _That's right, Princey, not everyone here is a well- mannered princess_.

He swallowed, and called one of the Selected to meet him outside. At least they had some privacy, although not one girl ever looked away from the door, waiting for Prince Charming to reappear.

Suddenly bored again, Camille sighed and leaned her head back. Soon enough, the prince was back, though he refused to look any of them in the eye. Instead, he focused all his attention on the sheet of paper in front of him, probably with their names written on it.

"Camille Alverez?" he called.

She almost fell off the sofa again. Thankfully she didn't, but when she did get off the sofa, it wasn't in a graceful, princess- like way at all.

Prince Ethan finally looked up from his paper and frowned when he saw Camille. Thoroughly annoyed by this, she tipped her chin up and took long, confident strides towards the door, not waiting for the prince to come through it before she slammed it shut in his face again. Unfortunately, though, she then had to wait for him to escort her to the room they were being interviewed in; she didn't know where it was. They walked in silence, and Camille was glad for it. She didn't want to speak with this horrid prince. Finally, they arrived at their destination.

In front of her was a small, yet bright, room with two couches facing each other and a coffee table between them and not much of anything else.

Taking a seat, she leaned back and draped one arm over the back of the sofa.

When the prince took a seat directly across from her, she noticed that he was staring at his hands, and it was as if she wasn't even there.

Well, she would certainly not stand for that. She cleared her throat and arched an eyebrow at him, effectively getting his attention. "You're _really great_ at this whole interview thing, you know? If I ever need to do anything like this, I can just think back to this moment and be like 'gee, I'm sure glad that I got such a _great_ demonstration from Prince Ethan!'" She smirked. "If you don't do or say anything, nothing can go wrong. Is that the idea?"

By his annoyed expression, Camille could tell she was right. So what was she supposed to do? Just sit still and look pretty? Yeah, well, she'd never been particularly good at that. "Well, listen, Your Royal Snobbishness, there are 34 other girls out there who just genuinely want to meet a prince. So why don't you look past your own problems for a second and try to think!" At this point, Camille was leaned over the coffee table, her hands gripping the edge closest to her. "Everyone here has had to leave their friends, their family, their home, basically everything that they care about, and all just because they want to meet you. So the _very least_ you could do is talk to them." Not waiting for a response, she slammed her hand down on the coffee table to end her rant, and stormed back into the Woman's Room.

And the whole while, all she could think was that she should have been able to come up with a better name than Your Royal Snobbishness.

Since Camille Alverez left for her interview, Indie had invited a girl named Nia, who didn't know anyone except Camille and an intimidating girl called Alda, over to talk. Nia was really sweet and bubbly, and noticeably the most elegant girl in the room with a confident glow to her. She reminded her of Clara. A painful lump formed in her throat, and Cecily shot her a concerned look. She knew that it should probably be the other way around, after what Cecily had shared with her, but ever since that night, Cecily had ironically seemed to be able to peer into Sera's soul whenever she felt like it, though Cecily seemed more closed off than ever, as if talking to someone had somehow made her stronger.

Camille was suddenly back in the room, and her fury and frustration was as palpable as a living thing writhing around her. Sera gulped. That didn't go well, then.

The prince came through the door next, his eyes anxiously following Camille back to where she lay on the sofa. Swallowing, he took a sheet of paper out of his pocket and called out the next name. "Sera Koli?"

* * *

Sera completely froze. Swallowing nervously, she shakily got to her feet, Cecily giving her an encouraging nod.

Since Camille Alverez left for her interview, Indie had invited a girl named Nia, who didn't know anyone except Camille and an intimidating girl called Alda, over to talk. Nia was really sweet and bubbly, and noticeably the most elegant girl in the room with a confident glow to her. She reminded her of Clara. A painful lump formed in her throat, and Cecily shot her a concerned look. She knew that it should probably be the other way around, after what Cecily had shared with her, but ever since that night, Cecily had ironically seemed to be able to peer into Sera's soul whenever she felt like it, though Cecily seemed more closed off than ever, as if talking to someone had somehow made her stronger.

Camille was suddenly back in the room, and her fury and frustration was as palpable as a living thing writhing around her. Sera gulped. That didn't go well, then.

The prince came through the door next, his eyes anxiously following Camille back to where she lay on the sofa. Swallowing, he took a sheet of paper out of his pocket and called out the next name. "Sera Koli?"

Sera completely froze. Swallowing nervously, she shakily got to her feet, Cecily giving her an encouraging nod.

Sitting across from the prince, Sera couldn't hide her anxiety. After all, he was _the freaking crown prince of Illea_. "Um… hi…"

"Hi," he mumbled back. Obviously he had no more of an idea about what he was doing than she did. She tried for a smile, and voiced her suspicions.

It worked, because the prince looked up in shock, then laughed. When this happened, Sera couldn't help but giggle, too.

Laughing is the best cure, and for no reason whatsoever, Prince Ethan had made Sera laugh, and she had forgotten about her sister, if only briefly. Was there something between them? Sera wasn't sure. But she was willing to find out.

* * *

Settling into the plush red couch and straightening her back, Alda smiled encouragingly at the prince as he started interviewing her.

"So, what do you do for a living?" he asked, rearranging some of the papers in front of him. It almost looked like a nervous habit. Alda reminded her that he was a prince and Illea's future kin. Surely he wasn't so nervous.

"I am an Insurance Actuary, Your Highness," she replied, crossing her legs and smoothing a non-existent wrinkle in the skirt of her dress, trying to look natural.

He continued to ask her questions, and Alda did her best to answer them without sounding too formal. Trying to relax, she leaned back on the sofa and draped her right arm over the back of the sofa, using the other hand to make some gestures as she talked, and he asked some more personal questions.

"Tell me about your family."

Her smile became bittersweet as she described those she had left behind. "My father is 53 years old, and he's a psychiatrist. He was always quiet and patient in the house and I really loved spending time with him. We would talk over a cup of tea quite often. My mother is a kindergarten teacher. She's always cheerful and enthusiastic, though she can also be pretty stern. She's 49 years old, but dealing with all those kindergartners has aged her." She had almost forgotten she was with the prince, and had managed to smile. Doing her best not to blush, she brought her arm back over to her side of the couch, letting her hands rest delicately in her lap, and clamped up.

Looking disappointed at this, Prince Ethan urged her to continue.

"My twin brother- he's older, and he takes much pleasure in reminding me- we have like this sibling rivalry…" she laughs at the thought of her brother and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "His name is Geraldo, but he goes by Aldo. He's the one who came up with the name Alda for me." She laughed again. Her brother had always been carefree, which she couldn't help but be envious of.

The prince smiled at her, and suddenly Alda felt very self- conscious. Then it was time to go, and once she left, Alda thanked the Gods that she hadn't been too formal. Hopefully she could keep it up.

* * *

Alice Marine sits down on the sofa and hoped that her curly brown hair- which was in a crown braid with seashells in it- would cooperate for once. Looking at the prince, who looked like he's trying he was trying to come up with something intelligent to say, she fidgeted with her dress and almost got one of her silver heels caught in the hem. Perhaps she should not have asked for a floor-length dress. But it had just looked so lovely, and she hadn't been able to help herself. "Hi," she says, trying her best to smile. She knew that the Selection must be a lot for him.

Prince Ethan smiles back and she instantly relaxes. "It says here that you go by Lia?"

"Indeed, I do. And what do you go by? Surely not _Prince_ Ethan?" She didn't mean to be so open, but she couldn't call him 'Prince Ethan' the whole time, could she? Call her improper; being raised by your two older brothers will do that to you.

He raises his eyebrows, but says, "you can call me Ethan if you prefer."

Lia smiles good- naturedly. "That certainly would make you less intimidating." Because there was nothing about being the future king that _wasn't_ intimidating.

Ethan's eyes dart down to her arms- visible due to the fact that the dress only had one shoulder, the silvery- where the silvery scars plain to see on her tanned skin. "Why did you choose to be in the selection?" It was easy to see that he assumed that she had run away from something. Something that had given her those scars. It made Lia wonder what would make him believe such things so easily.

"I got those scars from all the sea animals I help; I'm a marine biologist," she clarified. Lia tried to ignore Ethan's surprise. "And I entered the Selection because I have nothing to lose, and everything to gain."

From the tightness of his mouth, Lia could tell that he thought she was talking about becoming queen, and she did her best to cover up her mistake. "I'd love to make some more friends here, the food is amazing, and the gowns…" she trailed off.

"What do you miss most from home?" The question caught her by surprise. But when she recovered, she didn't know what to say. What _didn't_ she miss from home would be the easier question to answer. Lia didn't know where to start.

"I miss my two older brother, Alec and Andrew, I miss Snowflake…" She grinned at his confused expression. "That's my cat." He nodded in acknowledgement, and Lia caught herself halfway through an eye roll. He was just so serious! "I miss my job; I've always loved animals, and I love the fact that I can sometimes help them. And I miss the sea." Her hazel eyes got a faraway look in them.

There was nothing about the sea she didn't love- the animals that lived in it's depths, the beautiful and ever-changing color of the waves that always felt so good against her legs, the salty- fresh smell of it. Hence the seashells in her hair, and the blue dress. Even her second pair of earrings were pearls. Each pearl hung just above her first pair of earrings- silver dangle downs. Between the blue dress, seashells, and pearls, she felt just a little bit closer to the sea.

"I miss my friends, and my school, my house…" And the list went on. Lia didn't know what she missed most. There was nothing about her home that didn't make her want to leave all this behind and run back to. But then what would be the point? She couldn't throw her spot in the Selection away.

Ethan escorted her back to the room that all the selected were waiting in, but sound was muted and colors got all mixed up. She couldn't stop thinking about home. Lia swallowed and tried to get rid of the lump in her throat. Determined to show that she was worth keeping around, she tilted her chin up and forced a smile. She refused to let homesickness get the better of her.

 **A/N: Again, I'm really sorry about the long wait. I've just been really busy lately. And because I know you all care about my life, I feel that I must inform you that my mother's birthday was yesterday! Anyway, this is only part one of the interviews. I'm sorry that the POVs were short but I had to fit four girls in one chapter, so...**

 **Also, THERE IS ONLY ONE MORE SPOT FOR THE SYOC! However, if anyone really wants to, they can submit another character after one of the ten gets eliminated. And, yes, I'm sorry, but it's going to happen eventually. Especially if their creators never review ;). Don't worry, reviewing has no consequence. So just give some feedback and you'll make my day and write your name in the following list :).**

 **To my lovely reviewers:** Booki, Lady Crystal Beach, MastaGamerita, ThatscencenboyXD **(who also reviewed my last chapter, I just didn't see it. Sorry!)** , and Fryllabrille201

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	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! There really are no excuses, and I know I've done this before as well... Anyway, I really hope that these fantastic reviewers still stick around even though I'm suddenly horrible at updating:** I Go By Many Names, La Rosa, Fryllabrille201, Lady Crystal Beach, Jcuret98, Silvertrue, MastaGamerita, Booki, rysaspirit, **and** MeWithASideOfSprinkles. **Thank you guys so much! Also, I am really sorry but the SYOC is now closed, but I'm willing to make an exception. Once one of the ten get eliminated, another SYOC character can replace them. I will, however, only allow this to happen twice, and seeing as they may be a little late into the Selection, they may not even be Selected, but a rebel or something instead. If you want to specify what you want your character to be- (Rebel, maid, prisoner, etc.) then just add it in the form and ignore some of the more Selection related stuff. They can be Selected if you really want them to be, but I'm hoping you'll be a little but more creative than that. Again, this will only happen twice, so you need to be quick if you want to create a character. Thank you to anyone who read all of this!**

 **-M**

"Bellamy Sinclair." The prince looked very annoyed at having to talk to so many girls, and didn't even bother to cover up his frown. Bell saw a dark haired girl with a slightly over-the-top hairstyle giggle, only to have one of the twins clap a hand over her mouth. Once she had regained control and was no longer fighting to hold in the fit of giggles, the twin removed her hand and the girl apologized. Bell doubted she'd last very long. She was obviously quite young, and probably extremely naive. As for the twins, it would be difficult for one to shine without leaving the other behind...

"Uh… Bellamy Sinclair?" the prince repeated. Then, a little quieter, "Am I not saying it right, or something?" This caused the dark- haired girl to burst out in another fit of laughter as the twin tried to suppress her own and the girl's at the same time. All this earned them was a glare. A loud girl named Camille who was sitting with them glared right back. Definitely wouldn't last long. She was obviously not princess material. She didn't mean to judge people so much, but she had always been rather competitive and she knew that first impressions were very important. If these girls didn't understand that, they could leave.

"That's me." Bell stood, and started walking towards the door, where the prince was doing. How embarrassing. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that it had taken a while to register that she was next to be interviewed. Praying that she wasn't blushing too much- or that she was at least blushing prettily- Bell played with the sleeve of her jewel- toned dress. It was ruby red today, which looked good with her dark hair- slicked back in a ponytail as usual- and tanned skin. The color also made her light blue eyes look really bright in comparison to the dark color.

Then, remembering her mother would scold her for fidgeting, Bell forced her hands still. Her whole family in general was a little bit of a touchy subject. It wasn't that she didn't love them; she did. She just didn't always feel all that loved by them.

As for her parents, they both already had their favorites. Dad favored Bianca, Bell's oldest sister and host of a popular morning talk show, and Mom favored Barbie, who was supermodel who got though boyfriends faster than Taylor Swift. Thus, Bell was rarely the subject of attention.

Both of her sisters were blonde- haired and genuinely gorgeous and it was difficult to feel beautiful in her household with her dark hair and eyes that appeared grey from afar- Bianca had often commented that grey was a boring color and was glad she didn't have her eyes- and it was even more difficult to feel accomplished.

On top of her two famous sisters, her mother was a socialite and a reality TV star and her father was a basketball player and hall of famer in the past and was currently a businessman and celebrity. And so, because she couldn't be a model or a host of a show, she began pageantry. From the age of 12, Bellamy has participated in over 40 pageants, her most renowned title being Illea's youngest Miss Illea - Universe at the age of 19, crowned two weeks prior to the Selection. That had earned her her parent's attention, the jealousy of her two other sisters, and a lot of unwanted attention from the media.

They had been walking for a while now and Bell realized too late that she should have said something by now. Had any of the other girls talked to him on the way to the interview room? What kind of girl did he prefer? Kind and quiet? Loud and reckless like Camille? She'd have to wait and see. The best she could do was answer his questions honestly and politely, and stand out just enough to be worth keeping around, but not too much as to reveal her character too quickly. Later, when she knew what he liked, she could act her way to the top.

See? Competitive. Bell was a winner, and she treated everything like a race to the top. This was no exception. She knew that they weren't competing for a trophy, that they were competing for a heart, but that made no difference to her.

* * *

Nia was extremely embarrassed once the prince left with that girl- Bellamy Sinclair. Thankfully, Indie had been there to suppress her laughter, but she was still horrified with herself. She had laughed at the prince! And then he had glared at her. Of course, Camille had fair fried him where he stood.

Indie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Don't worry; surely he isn't so unreasonable as to judge you before he even meets you. Besides, it was funny." She laughed, which set Nia off as well. Sera shushed them seconds before the prince walked in with that girl, Bellamy Sinclair, who went over to try to socialize with Alda.

"Nia Olav." Swallowing hard and trying not to panic, she got to her feet and Indie gave her a thumbs up, Camille grinned at her, Cecily gave her a reassuring nod (about as much as Nia would expect from her; the girl was kind of reserved) and Sera tried to smile but couldn't meet her gaze. Nia didn't know what she had done to offend her, but she didn't have time to ask. Prince Ethan spotted her and escorted her out of the door.

"I'm really sorry about laughing earlier I was just nervous, and I'm sure you're pretty nervous too and I just-" she took a deep breath and slowed down. "I hope you can forgive me."

Prince Ethan looked sideways at her and grinned. "I would have laughed if I was you, too," he assured her. Nia's smile became more relaxed and less nervous.

"What do you do for a living?" he asked as they settled into their seats.

"I'm a hairstylist," Nia replies, gesturing to her towering hairdo with a giggle. "Hence the hair." She crossed her legs and answered the next question with a smile. Five questions later, Prince Ethan was escorting her back to her room.

"Thanks." Nia said once they were nearing the door. At his questioning look, Nia blushed. "For being everything I thought you'd be." Prince Ethan looked away, but Nia didn't miss the guilt in his eyes. "What is it?" she asked, stopping in her tracks, concern wrinkling her brow.

"I'm not some amazing prince. Actually, I'm not anything special at all and I'm not who you came here to see; I'm just a regular guy."

Nia laughed, all her concern gone. "I know. But you don't have to be anything else."

With that, she made her way back to the Women's Room, the prince left behind and frozen in shock.

* * *

Eira studied herself in the pocket mirror that one of her maids had given her. She wasn't vain, not really, but she knew how important appearances were. During the makeovers, she had ombred the ends of her chestnut- brown hair and subtle honey-blonde highlights. It had been braided in a mix of a dutch, waterfall, and french braid updo. Or something. She was no hair expert, but apparently, that girl called Nia, who was currently being interviewed, was. Maybe she should talk to her. She put her hand mirror down with a sigh. Of course, she'd have to make friends eventually as it would make her more likable but it wasn't her area of expertise. She was much better at pulling people apart, not together.

Staying in her corner of the Women's Room, Eira had the benefit of not being noticed, but being able to notice everything. The twins were obviously not planning on turning against each other, but Eira reckoned that she could get them to, with little more than a nudge. Their friendship hung by a delicate thread, that much was obvious, though she didn't yet know how to sever it. She'd figure it out, though. She always did. Camille would be easy enough to frame at some point of time, if she ever even got that far. Granted, she was unique, but too loud. Sera was obviously struggling with some internal conflict, that, by the looks of things, none of her friends knew about. Interesting. Shy? Or secretive? Too early to say. Alda and Camille were already enemies, judging by earlier mishaps, but it was obviously due to a misunderstanding. From what Eira had gathered, Alda was usually overly formal whenever she got nervous or met someone for the first time. The girl was just shy, but intelligent and curious. She could be a problem. Alice was a lot like Nia; kind and caring, though Nia was more bubbly and seemed quite naive. She would probably crack under pressure. The beauty queen, Bellamy, either had hearing problems or she often got caught up in her thoughts, and Eira suspected it was the latter. She was obviously troubled, but it didn't seem to be nerves, so there must be some issues at home. Family problems?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the hairstylist, Nia, walked back in, a smile on her face as she walked over to chat with Camille and the others. Not a good sign. Judging by this, the prince liked her. The hand mirror was resting on the arm of her chair and she was able to view herself in it without looking too vain by discreetly glancing at it out of the corner of her eye. Almond- shaped, light grey- blue eyes stared back at her. She had a small mouth, a high, thin nose with a smattering of freckles on it that spread to across her cheeks and thin eyebrows. Couple that with the braided hair, peachy soft skin, and the vibrant purple color of her dress and you got the perfect sweetheart look. Delicate enough to get away with cute and innocent. Too bad she wasn't a Two; Eira reckoned that she'd be a rather good acting. Ah, well. Being a Four wasn't all bad, and it would add to the innocent act.

Prince Ethan finally caught up to Nia and fumbled with a piece of paper as he tried to unfold it and read the next name. Eira thought that he had probably been forced into the holding a Selection, and had tried desperately to find a way out of it, but at the same time he had hopes of finding someone who could distract him from the stress he faced of becoming the next king of Illea. How foolish.

He finally managed to unfold the sheet of paper and read off the next name. "Eira Havillard." Eira got up with a well- practiced smile and made her way over to the prince, the perfect picture of shy yet eager.

They started on their way to the interviewing room. They each took their seats and Eira tried to settle on a personality for herself. It didn't help that she had no idea what the prince liked yet. He had seemed to like Nia, Alice, and Sera, but in the way you like a friend? Or something more? It was difficult to say, seeing as the prince wasn't very open. She decided on mysterious but kind, with some inner strength. And, of course, innocent as always.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Ethan," Eira said with a small yet warm smile in an attempt at conversation. She could see the prince trying to figure her out, just like her trying to figure him out.

He started with some easy questions. How did she like it here? Had she made any friends, yet? Were her maids being well- behaved? Was the palace to her liking? She answered each of them perfectly, saying that it was awfully strange here and she couldn't decide if she liked it or not, she hadn't made any friends yet because she had a hard time opening up to new people, her maids were well- behaved, yes, but also very quiet, and that the palace was very different from what she was used to and would take some getting used to. When he started asking more personal questions, Eira appeared to be slightly nervous about opening up, and made her answers short, just like how her character that she had created would.

Soon, they both left the small interviewing room and made their way back to the Women's Room, and Eira was confident that she had enticed the prince enough for him to keep her around. At least until she figured out what kind of girl he liked, then he would fall in love with her. She would not fail at her goal; Eira would become queen.

* * *

Indie tried to discreetly glance at Sera and Cecily and listen to Camille retelling her encounter with Alda at the same time. The two shared another glance as Nia tried to make conversation with Sera and Cecily tucked her latest book safely away. Indie was sure she had missed something; the two girls had become besties over night! And, she had to admit, she was slightly jealous. She had never had to share her twin with anyone before, and it unnerved her that she had to now. And Cecily seeming so worried about Sera was downright bizarre. Indie had always been the one to be worried about her friends, Cecily usually just snapped at them to get over it. But not this time. This time Cecily had somehow noticed that something was up with Sera before she had.

Someone snapping their fingers in her face brought her back to the present. Camille put her hands on her hips, unhappy that she was being ignored. "What planet were you just on?" She plopped down in front of her and crossed her legs, showing off her signature thigh- length boots.

Indie swallowed. "Sorry, Camille, I-" She was cut off when Prince Ethan walked through the door. This time he hadn't folded his sheet of paper, probably because of his inability to unfold it, and it had been shoved in his pocket, so that when he took it out it was crinkled.

Apparently, though, his handwriting was still legible. "Indie Rienne?" With an eager grin, Indie stood, ready to meet the prince that would hopefully erase her memories of his brother. She couldn't even begin to describe why, but she was drawn to Prince Jaxon's mystery and felt herself wanting to ease the pain that she had noticed in him. Though she was no Cecily Rienne, she did still enjoy fixing things, specifically speaking, people. It was why she always made friends with everyone and then listened to them rant on about their problems and why she never let herself get angry or raise her voice or do anything that might offend someone. Because though she felt overwhelmed by the prospect of fixing the world, she still wanted to fix the people who lived in it.

She realized that she had walked with Prince Ethan right out the door, and mentally scolded herself for zoning off- something she seemed to be doing a lot of, lately. As they made their way down the hall, Indie began asking Prince Ethan what it was like to have the stress of being royal always bearing down on him. She told herself that it was to make conversation, but she knew that she was really just trying to find the source of Prince Jaxon's pain. Then, realizing how rude and nosey she was being, she quickly apologized. Prince Ethan just shrugged, seeming slightly confused by her question. Indie suspected that she was one of the few that asked about the prince, instead of talking about herself, and just wished that she had done it for the right reasons.

Indie accidentally zoned off again, lacking the courage to ask Prince Ethan any more questions, and the next thing she knew, they were in a small, brightly- lit room with two comfy- looking couches facing each other. Taking a seat in one of said couches, she tried for a smile, but it felt like more of a grimace. Would she be doing better at this if it was a certain different prince staring back at her? Did she really want to know the answer to that question? Probably not. Throughout the rest of the interview, she answered Prince Ethan's questions as politely as she could and tried not to imagine what it would be like if she was with Prince Jaxon. God, she had only met the guy once!

As they walked back to the Women's Room, Indie did her best not to look miserable, but she was sorely disappointed in herself for managing to get herself into such a big mess so quickly. Most of all, though, she tried to push an annoying question to the back of her mind, but she kept asking herself over and over again: Does Prince Jaxon have the same conflicted feelings that I do?

* * *

Just before Indie walked into the door, Cecily's head whipped over to the door (twin thing) and she watched her sister walk over to see all her newfound Selection buddies. Her smile was convincing enough that no one questioned it, but Cecily always knew when there was something wrong with her sister, and there was definitely something wrong now. Though the two were practically complete opposites, they both had a habit of hiding their feelings, though, where Cecily never showed any emotion at all, Indie never let someone see when she was down, instead letting them focus on their own problems without letting her own distract them; she was afraid that people wouldn't spill their guts to her if he did the same to them… or something.

When she finally got her sister to make eye contact with her, Cecily shot her a concerned look. When she saw this, Sera did the same thing, but Indie waved their concern away and grinned even wider, trying to convey that she was fine before she started to strike conversation with Nia about her gorgeous hair, effectively shutting out any attempt at contact from either Cecily or Sera.

Speaking of, Cecily had somehow gained some of Indie's superpowers of being able to tell when someone was hurting, and could tell that Sera was struggling with something. God, between Indie, Sera, and her maid, Abby, Cecily was finding herself feeling like she had to take care of a lot more people than she felt comfortable with. For the most part, it had always been about Indie, but now… since the Selection, two people had been added to that list. And that was two people too many, but Cecily found that she couldn't bring herself to shut either of them out. Which was odd, because she'd never had trouble with it.

Prince Ethan stood in the doorway, his eyes on her. Cecily suddenly noticed that the same could be said for everyone on the room. Well, all apart from Indie, who instead stared at the wall behind her. Sera nudged her gently. "You okay?" Cecily nodded stiffly, and was tempted to ask her that same question, but knew she couldn't with so many people listening in. Obviously, her name had been called and, because she was too busy worrying about everyone, she hadn't heard it. How did Indie manage to have everyone's best interests at heart, and still manage to keep a clear head? Well, up until now, at least.

Standing shakily, she silently made her way over to where the prince was waiting, and mumbled an apology, though she didn't allow herself to look nervous or shaken, even though she felt both.

Prince Ethan shrugged at her apology as they walked away from the prying eyes from the Women's Room. "You're not the first." Cecily vaguely remembered a girl who also didn't hear her name at first. Bethany? Something like that. Though Cecily had excellent memory, she had been reading her book when that name had been called…

Soon they were at the interviewing room, and the two took their seats, both seeming very stiff and out of place. "So, what was wrong with your twin," the prince asked, "she seemed kind of distant. And I'm guessing that's out of character for her."

"Like you wouldn't believe," she said with a faraway smile. It was impossible to not feel proud of your sister when she was as selfless as Indie was. It was hard not to feel proud of a friend when she had inner strength like Sera's and it was hard not to feel proud of your maid when she had kindness like Abby's. Cecily swallowed. God, how had she come to care for those two in such short time?

The prince continued to grill her about her life at home- which she was very vague about, due to her father- and how she was liking the palace so far. Eventually, he either got as sick of it as Cecily did, or they just ran out of time. Cecily was only about fifty percent sure that it was the latter; it must be very dull to interview so many girls, and then to try and memorize all their answers…

As soon as she returned to the Women's Room, she raced over to Sera and Indie, ignoring Nia and Camille completely (much to camille's annoyance. That girl did not like to be ignored) but Cecily wouldn't risk talking to either of them. And add another two names to te growing list of people that she cared about? She didn't think so. Three was enough. But she suspected that it would be difficult to keep it at that number.

* * *

Eliza wandered around, trying to find someone to associate herself with one of the Selected. Even though there were 35 of them, finding someone to talk to was proving more difficult than you'd think. Either they were cold and unenjoyable to be around, or they had already found themselves a group of friends and were not interested in adding another member to their clique. Fiddling with her mid-back length black hair, her eyes traveled around the room, trying to find someone who was as depressingly alone as she was. She took a step forward as she saw someone but her nude heels caught on the end of her dress and she stumbled. The forest- green material puddled around her knees and, thankfully, she got up before too many people noticed and she thanked the gods for her quick reflexes. She probably shouldn't have chosen a dress that was floor- length, but she couldn't help it; there was nothing about the dress that she didn't like- the earthy color made her blue eyes seem even deeper than usual, it lacked any irritating straps, and she even loved the length… even if it did make her trip from time to time.

Then she heard someone say, "Sheesh. Girls… I miss my brothers…" The girl was standing alone holding a drink of some kind. And she was obviously a lover of the sea, with the blue dress seashells in her hair, and pearl earrings, much like Eliza's.

The girl jumped when Eliza said 'hi,' almost spilling her drink, and Eliza murmured a quick apology. She sometimes forgot how quiet she was. But then the girl relaxed. "Oh, hi. Trouble finding someone to be around as well?" Eliza only nodded. "My name is Lia," the girl said, giving her a friendly smile. Eliza returned it and introduced herself. She didn't mean to come across as so reserved, she just couldn't help it. Anxious, and not sure to do with the silence between her and Lia, she tapped her fingers on a conveniently- placed table for drinks and such. It was a bad habit that she had had for as long as she could remember.

"Are you nervous?" Lia asked, somehow managing not to sound nosey. "You shouldn't be; the prince seems like a great guy." She shrugged. "Or, at least I think so from the two minutes I spent with him." She flashed Eliza a joking smile, so Eliza returned it. Lia continued to make friendly conversation until the prince returned, at which point Eliza's attention went up in smoke. Out of the corner of her eye, Eliza saw Lia smile, but she was too focused on the prince. Was he going to call her name this time? She hoped so; she really wanted to get it over with- waiting was worse that actually doing.

"Eliza D'Annis?" YES! She finally would get this interview over and done with. Lia gave her a thumbs up as she walked over and took Prince Ethan's arm.

They made it to the interviewing room with not only a few awkward silences, and Eliza began to feel worried. She wasn't here to fall in love, but she wanted to become queen; running the country would be a good opportunity to help the lower castes. She didn't pretend to know what it felt like, being a Three, but she still knew that it wasn't right.

These were the thoughts that allowed her to settle down gracefully in one of the sofas. Truth be told, she kinda just went on autopilot for the rest of the interview. She answered the questions as politely as she could without sounding overly formal and prayed that her smiles looked more genuine than they felt. As Prince Ethan escorted her back to the Women's Room, Eliza rubbed the scar on her wrist that she had earned by falling out of a tree when she was 7 years old and wondered, what was she really doing here?

* * *

A large oak door stood in front of him, the one thing between him and the king. Jaxon refused to think of King Drake as his father; after everything he had done to him, the man deserved no such respect from him. Pacing back and forth, Jax had to resist the urge to bolt- a bad habit he had gained ever since being forced from the throne. He had, of course, had to pack up and leave the first time, but then he started behaving differently- ignoring his brother's letter's, avoiding his whole family altogether, pushing away anyone who could possibly become close to him- and the reason for all of it was behind that door.

Unfortunately, his choice was taken from him when the door opened up anyway. Scowling, Jax looked up into a pair of icey blue eyes under dark hair much like his own. King Drake gestured for him to enter, calmly, and Jax, normally not so obedient, did as he was told. This was just about killing him. Curling his hands into fists, Jax tried to cool down his temper, but the battle was becoming more and more of a loss by the minute. This was the man who had pretended to be his father. This was the man who had forced him off the throne because he wasn't easily enough controlled. This was the man who had made him afraid of his own family for fear of losing them all over again. And he had the nerve to talk to him about is plans for his brother's Selection?

"There is much unrest in Illea," the king murmured, turning his back on Jax to study a large map pinned on the wall. "Even as we speak, the rebels are drawing closer."

That was news to Jax. "Rebels?" he asked. He hadn't even known that there were rebels, though he understood why the king would think to withhold that information from him.

"Yes," he said, delicately tracing the borders of Illea with a finger. "And though the Selection is tradition and will help with this unrest, I am no fool-" Jax interrupted the king with a doubtful snort- "and I know that no tradition will keep the citizens of this country appeased forever…" He trailed off, snatching his hand back from the map as if he had been burned. The king turned to look Jax in the eye, and the prince was frozen at the sight of madness in his eyes. "And as for the rebels, it will only add fuel to the fire." He turned again and hunched over his desk, hands grasping the sides to keep himself up, back hunched over in pain. Jax couldn't help but recoil from the mad king in terror, his anger long forgotten. Sure, he had always known his father had been delusional, but this… The king's voice came in hushed tones as he spoke. "But you know what I say?" Jax swallowed, not daring to speak. "I say let them come. They will all be struck down in my might, and an example will be made of them. I will not stand for anyone disagreeing with the throne. Soon the whole world will know my strength and no one will dare oppose me again."

Quite suddenly, the king's back straightened and his shoulders relaxed. It was as if his mad bout had never happened, and it was terrifying. Jax knew that he was waiting for him to say something, so he forced a string of words from his mouth to appease him. "What are you going to do?"

The king never turned, but somehow Jax knew that he was smiling. Surely, if you were delusional, you could be cured, as no one can hide from the truth forever, but this madness… The king finally answered. "I'm going to add fuel to the fire."

 **A/N: I hope all you wonderful readers enjoyed the chapter, and please tell me who your favorite character is in a review. All ten have been introduced now, and any feedback on the Selected would be great, but if you guys could also tell me who your favorite prince is so far, than that would really be fantastic. And by favorite prince, I mean Ethan or Jax. Aaron and Will and the queen will all be introduced later. I'm sorry (again) about how long it took me to update, but hopefully it won't take as long this time. All SYOC information is at the top if anyone is interested. Please review!**

 **Thank you to my amazing reviewers:** I Go By Many Names, La Rosa, Fryllabrille201, Lady Crystal Beach, Jcuret98, Silvertrue, MastaGamerita, Booki, rysaspirit, **and** MeWithASideOfSprinkles. **You guys are the best.**

 **-M**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This isn't really my best work, but it was important for the plot and at least it's kinda long.**

 **It's been brought to my attention that, according to the books, the twins shouldn't have both gotten in. Guys, I haven't read the Selection series in years, and my memory kinda sucks, so I don't remember the details. But I actually really appreciate being corrected, so feel free to continue. Let me know on what I get wrong and the kinds of things that should come up in the future like the Elite.**

 **Also, let me know which characters you'd like to see more of. You can't say your own character! If your character is your favorite, just review me your second favorite or something. And choose wisely; amoung other things, the first elimination will be next chapter.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter:** MeWithASideOfSprinkles, Silvertrue, Fryllabrille201, Booki, La Rosa, MastaGamerita, Jcuret98, Lady Crystal Beach, rysaspirit, **and huge thanks to** Middle Sister, **who reviewed EVERY chapter. You're all really awesome.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **-M**

Eliza's hand was throbbing horribly as she continued to wave at the citizens outside, the carriage jolting as they went over another bump in the road. Even though the Selection had just started, the king had insisted on parading them all through the streets, so here they were. Eliza didn't know how much more of this she could take. Beside her, Lia didn't look like she was doing much better. At first she had seemed genuinely happy just to be outside the palace walls, but now she just looked worn out and dreadfully tired. Two seashells had already fallen out of her brown hair, and her smokey-eye makeup was slightly smudged. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else they could do apart from wave and smile at the crowds; the whole thing was being filmed, and she doubted that slacking off was going to get the approval of the people.

After a long while, the carriage arrived at a small, broken-down looking village. Just a handful of houses and very few people who were brave enough to come near the carriage. Lia peered through the window, eyes suddenly alight with interest. The carriages slowed down, and Eliza couldn't help but feel that this was some sort of warning, or sign. Why had the king sent them all out _here_? Staring out the window, Eliza spotted a little boy with jet- black hair and tanned skin, watching their carriage with mild interest, clasping something tightly in his fist. Glancing over, Eliza saw that Lia had suddenly become very pale. "Stop!" she croaked out. At first, the coachmen paid no heed. "STOP!" This time, Lia was bold enough to open the carriage door and half fall out before the carriage finally came to a halt.

Eliza stumbled out next, immediately rushing to Lia's side to make sure she was all right. The girl just waved her concern away with a small smile and turned to argue with the coachman. Poor guy. As she turned around, she saw other Selected leaving their carriages, as theirs held up the line. Eliza was expecting protests but, as Alda got out, Eliza saw her gaping at the village. Bell looked just as bewildered and Eira, as always, refused to show much emotion. The twins came out of the next carriage, and it was almost comical how different their reactions were. Indie seemed frozen in horror and sorrow at first, but them immediately rushed to the nearest citizen (much to her guard's dismay). Cecily, however, just studied the place, her mouth set in a grim line. Sera's reaction was much like Indie's, but with less horror and more sorrow. Indie hadn't seemed to think that there could be anything like this in the world, but she was the only one. How shielded she was. Camille almost got in a fight with the guard- having not yet noticed her surroundings- because the ride was taking too long as it was. She was obviously not too happy about the delay. But when Nia tapped her on the shoulder, eyes welling up with tears, Camille finally caught on and dropped the poor guard.

Eliza turned her attention away from the Selected and instead focused on the growing crowd. All looked gaunt, aged and weary, and very reluctant to come too close. Their skin was burned from too much time spent in the sun, their eyes were glassy and their clothes were torn and covered in mud, grime, and sweat. Not knowing what to do, she searched the other girls for their reactions. Indie looked just as lost as the citizens, but then she fingered all her piercings, and started taking them out one by one. Next she abandoned her cream-colored heels, then the hairpins with pearls on the end that were pinning up her hair. She started to hand them all out- her necklace, her bracelets, and the little flowers decorating her dress. Adults surrounded her, taking the jewelry with a look of newfound hope in them. Children handled the small treasures with care, eyes wide with wonder at how beautiful they were. Two sisters took one shoe each and tried them on, stumbling about and laughing. Indie's face was aglow, but she soon ran out of things to give when she resorted to handing out ripped-off scraps of her own dress.

Watching her, it was impossible not join her. Eliza took off her nude heels, her pearl earrings, and a small silver bracelet. Lia was next, saying that the shells were falling out of her hair anyway with a laugh. The citizens seemed more at ease around her. Soon most of the Selected lacked anything in their hair, on their wrists, and were barefoot. They handed out everything they had on them- Bellamy became popular with little girls very quickly seeing as she had some of the nicest stuff. Soon they were doing more than just handing out their goods. Nia started styling some of the woman's hair, and Sera followed suit (apparently it was a hobby of her's), Bell started telling a handful of small girls what it was like to be in a beauty pageant. Alda made conversation with a lot of the adults, telling them what an injustice this was. If she didn't know better, Eliza would say that she was a rebel. But it worked. Everywhere around her, the village suddenly came alive. Camille started telling all the boys stories about boxing, Lia gave someone a piggyback and described some of the sea creatures that she had saved. Eira would talk to anyone, saying things that, judging by their expressions, were comforting and inspiring. Unfortunately, she didn't stray too far from the cameras. Cecily did her best to talk, too, but mostly left that to her sister, drinking in Indie's words with as much need as the citizens.

Eliza spun in a circle, trying to find something to do. She found it when her eyes settled on the little boy she had seen earlier. He stood apart from all the others, intent on watching them. But, seeing as everyone already seemed to have a favorite Selected girl, she wandered over to him and caught sight of what he was grasping so tightly in his small fist. It was a doll, and it looked hand-made with sticks and pieces of cloth. "What's your name?" She asked, crouching so that she was his height.

Unlike usual, he didn't seem surprised at her sudden appearance, but more surprised by _her_. He blinked twice, as if trying to decide if she was real or not. "Are you an angel?" he blurted. Eliza laughed in surprise but shook her head. The boy looked down bashfully. "You look like an angel." With her deep blue eyes and mid-back length black hair, she wasn't exactly ugly, but an angel? This child was just too cute. "And my name is Zeen." He looked up at her, and when his bottle-green eyes met hers, Eliza was stricken at how horribly sad they looked. "My name is Eliza," she replied. "It's nice to meet you, Zeen." She looked over her shoulder when Lia called her name and saw that the Selected were all returning to their carriages, albeit reluctantly. Children were returning to their parents, and waving to the Selected, grasping their treasures in tight fists. She turned back to the little boy. "Where are your parents, Zeen?" She thought she already knew, but she had to ask anyway.

"They're dead," he muttered, suddenly very interested in his shoes. "They got sick… they never got better."

Eliza felt her heart plunge. No parents, no home… she couldn't just leave him... She took his free hand in her's and walked determinedly towards her carriage, daring anyone to stop her. Unfortunately, someone did. "You can't take him with you back to the palace," the guard informed her, seeming bored. Eliza did her best not to let that infuriate her.

"The boy has no home, no parents. I'm taking him with me." She rose to her full eight and tipped her chin up, hoping she looked more regal than she felt. The guard frowned and opened his mouth to argue. Eliza didn't give him the chance. "If he can't come, than I can't either. Do you really want to have to explain to the royal family why you lost one of the Selected?" He looked to another guard for help, but he only shrugged. With an unattractive grunt, the guard let her past and her and Zeen climbed in. Lia was already settled, but seemed surprised when she saw the little boy enter. "This is Zeen," Eliza said, hoping that Lia wouldn't ask why she had let him come back to the palace with them; she didn't really know why, just that she had to. Zeen's eyes wandered everywhere, and Eliza was impressed that his jaw stayed in place, because he was obviously awed. Without any hesitation, Lia reached over and ruffled Zeen's black messy curls playfully. He swatted her hand away with an annoyed snort, and Lia only laughed, which, in turn, made Eliza laugh, which coaxed a smile from Zeen.

"I'm Lia," she said, patting Zeen's head, probably just to annoy him. Eliza watched them, a smile lighting up her face as she watched Zeen and Lia playfully poke and swat each other. Honestly, they were like siblings! She knew that it may not work out, but she couldn't leave a child by himself to suffer. And as long as she had this little ray of sunshine in a rapidly darkening world, she felt that she could do anything.

* * *

As the Selected all made their way to the Great Hall, Eliza nervously squeezed Zeen's hand. She wasn't sure how the royals would react to what had happened- they were all barefoot, hair left down and messy, jewelry missing, and pieces of their dresses gone- or how they would react to the fact that she had brought a child back to the palace. When they arrived, most of the royal family were present.

Queen Kara was wearing a large red gown, blonde hair pinned up in an artful up do and normally charming hazel-gold eyes glistening with fury. King Drake stood beside her, dark hair impeccable and icy blue eyes as uninviting as usual, but was the picture of calm compared to his wife. Prince Ethan and Prince William stood to the left of Queen Kara, looking identical with their mother's eyes and father's hair. Jax stood closer to the king, concern wrinkling his brow, and grey eyes unusually warm and dark hair a mess. Prince Aaron was nowhere to be seen. The king's mouth twisted into an ugly smirk. "Lady Indie and Lady Eliza, thank you for your time, but you may leave now. Your bags have already been packed, you leave in the morning."

Though Eliza and Indie stayed silent, Lia, Cecily, Sera, Camille, and Nia started protesting. Instead of arguing with them, Eliza looked to Prince Ethan for his reaction. His face was frozen in shock; he obviously hadn't known this was happening, either. For some reason, Prince Jaxon also looked disoriented by this news. His hands were balled into fists and his teeth were clenched. Unable to help it, Eliza followed his gaze to Indie, who was staring right back at him. Not sure what else to do with this, Eliza ignored it and focused on the queen. Her mouth was fixed in a triumphant smile and her hands were clasped in front of her. She didn't even pretend to be sad to see them leave. Prince William just stared at his feet and shook his head as if to say, 'what a shame…' Despite their arguments and desperate pleas, the king ignored the Selected, instead eyeing Zeen, who had wisely decided to hide behind Eliza. Camille looked about ready to punch him, and Nia stopped arguing long enough to hold her back. Eliza almost had to do the same thing to Lia, and the guards were starting to get restless.

Thankfully, Prince Jaxon saved them all from Hell breaking loose. "I do not think that that would be wise, my king." King Drake eyed him with malice, obviously none too happy about his son defying him. Eliza briefly wondered if Jaxon usually referred to him as 'king', or if he usually called him 'father'. "That may cause even more civil unrest after what they did." Civil unrest? Around her, she saw Selected glance at each other uncertainly. So she hadn't been the only one that didn't know. Prince Jaxon swallowed, realizing his mistake too late.

Even so, what he had said worked, much to Queen Kara's disappointment. "Fine." Eliza felt her shoulders relax and Lia let out a relieved laugh, murmuring 'thank God' under her breath. Nia finally managed to calm Camille down and Sera smiled. Cecily didn't look as happy as Eliza would have expected, but more like she had dodged a bullet. Indie cocked her head at Prince Jaxon, but turned away from him to smile at her friends before he could react. Prince Ethan was gaping at his brother, eyes full of both sorrow and surprise. Jaxon looked away from Indie long enough to catch him staring at him, but immediately looked the other way. Were all royals this confusing?

"However," the king continued, causing everyone but is wife to stiffen, "the boy has to go." Eliza felt her heart plummet and Zeen's big, bottle-green eyes became even wider, filled with fright. She looked to Prince Jaxon again, hoping he would defend her, but he seemed content to let it happen until Indie stepped forward to defend her instead.

"Wait," Jaxon said, cutting off Indie. "The people won't like you kicking out one of the Selected or the civilian. They completely drank up the scene from earlier." The king grit his teeth, but Eliza could tell that it was just because he knew his son was right. Just when she was desperate enough to get rid of the silence that she almost spoke, the king dismissed everyone but Prince Jaxon. And judging by Indie's expression, Eliza wasn't the only one worried about him.

* * *

Without really knowing why, Indie returned to her room with images of mysterious grey eyes following her the whole way. Though she was sure her behavior was suspicious, she waved away any concern with the lie of not feeling well after the scene in the Great Hall. Once she got to her room, she tried to busy herself with one of the many hobbies she had picked up from doing things just for the experience of them. She tried to sketch something, but couldn't find anything to sketch, reading wouldn't work because her mind was too restless; she tried to make a new dress but kept seeing the faces of those starving citizens, hungry for scraps. When she tried to write something she just ended up staring at a blank page for five minutes, she tried to paint but when she realized that she was painting eyes and that they would most likely become grey with a few more brushstrokes, she had to stop. What was wrong with her?

Suddenly, Molly burst in, usually impeccable dark hair coming loose from it's short ponytail. The small Asian girl motioned her out the door, then disappeared. After a half-second of gaping, Indie followed Molly, closing the door behind her. The maid dashed about the palace halls, never glancing back to see if Indie was keeping up. For a woman with such short legs, she was _fast_.

When she paused long enough for Indie to catch up to her, Indie whisper-yelled, " _Where are we going_?" Molly just placed a finger over her lips and ushered her forward.

Eventually, they arrived in an unoccupied bedroom with a balcony, which Molly pushed Indie towards. Once she was close enough, she saw a tall figure waiting patiently outside, hands in pockets. Jaxon? Indie bit her lip, realizing that she had forgotten his title. He was still a prince. Spinning around, Indie saw that Molly was already gone. That sneaky maid! What was she supposed to do now? Climb down from the balcony? Swallowing, she realized that that was exactly what she was supposed to do.

Smoothing her nightgown and quickly braiding her hair over her shoulder, Indie took a deep breath and swung one leg over the balcony, trying to find a foothold in the wall. Once she found one, she did the same thing with her other leg, lowering herself down slowly and mentally reassuring herself that her fingers wouldn't slip. Thankfully, they didn't, and she got three- quarters of the way down before jumping because she couldn't find another foothold.

Running over to where Jaxon was waiting, she prayed that no one was watching; prince or no, this was still treason. Even if it didn't really mean anything… Indie slowed down a little, doubt building in her chest. _Did_ it mean something? After all the fantasizing and Jaxon saving her neck just hours before, she had assumed that it did. But what if it didn't, what then? Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she met Jaxon in the small forest right outside the palace.

Once he turned around, Indie noticed that he was wearing dark jeans and a grey hoodie that matched his eyes. And she smiled, glad that she wasn't too under-dressed in her nightgown and white flats. "Hi," she said, still smiling, still wondering what this was about. "What's going on?"

Prince Jaxon scratched his right ear with a nervous grin. "I don't know, I just wanted to see you again." Then he suddenly became serious. "And I wanted to warn you. You should really try not to bring so much attention from the king to yourself."

Confused, Indie frowned at him- not something she did very often, for fear that it would make someone dislike her. She knew it was ridiculous, thinking that if she wasn't the perfect, happy, problem-solving girl for just one second, everyone would suddenly hate her, but she couldn't help it; that was what everyone loved about her. And if that changed, would she still be so likable? She had never had the guts to find out. "Why?" she asked, bringing herself back to reality. "What's wrong with the king?"

He swallowed, not meeting her gaze. "I thought he was just delusional, but now…" Shaking his head, he brought one tightly-fisted hand out of his pocket and held it out to her. Once he opened his palm, Indie had to blink twice to realize that what she was seeing was real. It was silver, with a delicate leafy pattern, and small enough to fit one of her small fingers. A ring. She had never been a huge fan of jewelry, but between letting Ruby pierce her ears, and now this from Jaxon… she'd never been given jewelry before until now, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Jaxon took her hand and dropped the ring into her waiting palm, closing her fingers around it. "This is if you ever need to talk. Twist the ring, and I'll try and meet up with you as soon as I can. Even as we speak, this country is falling apart. No one can be trusted, and nowhere is safe. Not anymore." His deep grey eyes met her sea- green ones. "But I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire. Stay safe." And just like that, he was gone.

* * *

Alda paced the length of her room restlessly, trying to suppress her anger. All her life she had truly believed that the monarchy was good for this country, but after what she had seen today, it was clear that that was not the case. Poverty and hunger and despair had ruled that village, no savior monarchy. The public was being told that nothing was going on, but everything they believed in was built on lies and deceit. People deserved to know what was happening to the country, yet they were being left in the dark.

Knowing that she had to burn off some anger before she could think straight, Alda left her room to do just that. A lot of interesting things had seemed to be happening during her time in the Great Hall, and since she wasn't so great at asking questions, she would have to find out some answers another way. She was on her way to the king's office, hoping to listen at the door or look through a window, when she saw blonde hair disappear behind a corner. Rushing to follow, Alda caught sight of a dark-haired maid rushing around the halls. That wasn't really too suspicious. What was suspicious was the girl tailing her. She seemed to be one of the twins, though Alda couldn't tell from the back.

Staying where she was, Alda waited for the two to turn another corner before following, staying far enough behind that she would only catch glimpses of them before following again. Finally, the two entered a room and Alda hid behind a large decorative plant. Not long after they had entered, the maid left, dashing off with a more relaxed stance than she had had before. The blonde didn't leave.

Slipping into the room, Alda saw pale fingers grasping the edge of the balcony. Ducking under a desk, she caught a brief look at a pair of greenish eyes. Definitely one of the twins. Indie, maybe? Probably, as she was wearing a short sleeved nightgown instead of a long-sleeved one and didn't seem leached of happiness. Once the fingers disappeared, Alda emerged from her hiding space. Thirty seconds later, she got tired of waiting and climbed over the balcony, managing to get down the wall easily enough. After that, it didn't take her long to find Indie again.

She was with a dark- haired bloke that Alda couldn't get a good look at. Doing her best to stay out of sight, Alda mentally relaxed and started listening in on their conversation.

"Why?" Indie questioned, seeming nervous. "What's wrong with the king?" Impossibly, Alda became even more interested. What was wrong, indeed? Was the king sick? And if he was, what did this man know about it, and how did Indie know to meet up with him?

"I thought he was just delusional, but now…" The man trailed off, his voice sounding slightly familiar. But Alda wasn't so worried about that as she was about what he had said. If this was about the king previously being delusional, and now there was something wrong with him… was the king mad? Alda shook off the disturbing thought, but at the same time wanted to curse. The country was being ruled by a mad king? How had this not gotten out?

"This is if you ever need to talk," the man said, and Alda had to resist the urge to reveal herself to find out what he was talking about. "Twist the ring, and I'll try and meet up with you as soon as I can." A ring? Was Indie romantically involved with someone other that the prince? If so, this was an act of treason, not just getting information from a spy. "Even as we speak, this country is falling apart. No one can be trusted, and nowhere is safe. Not anymore." Well he was certainly right about that. "But I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire. Stay safe." He sounded like a love interest to Alda. She had heard enough.

Careful not to be seen, she dashed out from behind the tree and back towards the palace, retracing her steps back to the room she had exited from and quickly, though perhaps not so gracefully, climbed back up and over the balcony. It wasn't long before she found herself back in familiar hallways and was able to make it to her room easily enough, trying to calm her racing heart along the way.

Opening the door, Alda almost screamed when she saw someone waiting patiently, perched on the end of her bed. Closing the door behind her, but never turning her back on the intruder, Alda reluctantly approached the woman. She hadn't screamed because she wanted to hear her out, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't scream bloody murder if the panic in her chest spread much further. She was surprised that she had managed to hold it in at all.

The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties with dark skin and short black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape. "Hello," she said, her voice soft and quiet, yet strong and wise at the same time. "My name is Zandri."

Trying to get her voice to work, Alda came closer to see caramel eyes with dark blue flecks. "I go by Alda," she said simply, her voice sharp and prim. "What is your business here?"

Zandri smiled, rising from her sitting position and Alda was intimidated when she had to look up to meet her gaze. "Actually, my business here is you. It has been brought to my attention that some of the Selected might have been affected by the carriage ride in such a way that they felt that the monarchy was no longer trustworthy." She paused long enough to look for a reaction, but Alda did her best to keep her's covered up beneath a mask of calm. "So far you seem to be the only one affected so. Though I assume you already know this, there is a rebellion at work, though it has been kept secret for quite some time. My job in this movement against the monarchy is to expand our numbers." Alda's heart skipped a beat as she realized what she was saying. "So, Griselda Layfield, would you be interested in joining the rebellion?"

Alda thought back to all the civilians she had seen at that fateful carriage ride. She had become witness to the wrongdoings of the monarchy, and on top of that, the king was suspect of madness. Who knew what more was being hidden, what other horrors were out there, with no one to stop them. She knew her answer, and judging by the small smile on Zandri's lips, so did she. "I would be honored."

 **A/N: Yeah, that just happened. This was such an eventful chapter, and so much fun to write! Let me know what you think of Zeen in a review. Also, about the Indax... Jaxdie... wow, Indie's and Jax's names are hard to mix. Can I get some help with that? And Alda became a rebel! I know her creator hadn't meant for that to happen, and I only didn't ask because I don't like spoilers... but, this could be really great for the plot!**

 **All the SYOC spots are taken, but I mentioned in the AN last chapter that I was willing to make two exceptions- two characters that would take the place of characters who got eliminated. One of those characters has already been created, so if anyone would like to make a character, this is your last chance! For real, this time.**

 **On top of that, it would be really helpful for you reviewers to mention who your favorite and least favorite character is. I personally love all of them, but some of them will need to go soon. Keep in mind that I don't want to get rid of characters like Eira because they're good for drama. Once all of those are gone we'll just be left with all nice characters. Not that I don't love nice characters, but they're not always brilliant for the plot. Also, it would be great if you could keep telling me who your favorite prince is, just because it's interesting.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter:** MeWithASideOfSprinkles, Silvertrue, Fryllabrille201, Booki, La Rosa, MastaGamerita, Jcuret98, Lady Crystal Beach, rysaspirit, **and huge thanks to** Middle Sister, **who reviewed EVERY chapter. You're all really awesome.**

 **-M**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:**

 **Heey! I know it's been forever since I last updated, and I'm really sorry, but it couldn't be helped. I've been super busy lately and that probably isn't going to change any time soon so just bear with me, here. I tried to make this chapter pretty long, due to the fact that it's been a while, but that also means that the next chaoter may take even longer (Sorry again! ;() but I haven't stopped writing. Also, the first elimination is in the chapter! I'll explain why this person was eliminated in the A/N after this chapter, but it still killed me. More eliminations will be coming up so I'd find it exremely helpful if you guys would keep telling me who your favorite/ least favorite characters are. Enjoy.**

 **-M**

Cecily was jolted awake by Indie, golden hair braided over her shoulder and hanging over Cecily's face. "What?" She mumbled, rolling over and pressing her face into the pillow. Yeah, she was not a morning person, not even for Indie.

Her twin poked her in the sides playfully. "Nia's on a date with the prince! Can you believe it?" Indie jumped up and down in excitement. She was obviously very happy for her friend, which meant that she didn't have her heart set on Happily Ever After in the Selection. Relieved by this, Cecily finally managed to smile.

Sitting up in bed, she realized that she had greatly underestimated the number of people in her room. Sera and Camille were also present. Yawning, Cecily ungracefully got out of bed and smoothed her moonlight hair to the best of her ability. Only then did she notice what they were wearing.

Sera's dress was light blue and flowed to her ankles, barely showing her high heels and was made entirely of scraps of different materials that had been tossed. Part of a curtain, light silk, lace, and other bits of fabric made up the dress. It was beautiful, and unique… and it was putting use to material that otherwise would have been tossed away. Camille's outfit was the same, but she was wearing a white T-shirt and a black, mostly leather, skirt that just about reached her knees. Her wild hair was curled to perfection and she wasn't wearing any makeup apart from some dramatic red lipstick and black eyeliner. She looked overall completely bad-ass. Indie was also sporting a dress made of scraps, the top all beige- colored and then an explosion of blue scraps that took up the skirt, the same length as Camille's. Her hair was braided over her shoulder, just like she always did it at home, and Cecily suspected that she had done it herself. She had lot's of star-shaped studs in blue and white colors and different sized in her ears and one simple silver hoop and was wearing a ring. That was kind of odd…

Grinning, Indie held up a dress that was obviously meant for Cecily. Again, made of scraps, it was a midnight blue with pearls randomly sewn into it. Thankfully, it would reach her ankles and was long-sleeved and it would even hug all of her curves nicely without being revealing. And, quite frankly, it was the first dress that Cecily had ever really wanted to wear.

Suddenly wide awake, she jumped out of bed and allowed herself a full two minutes to gawp at the gorgeous dresses before Indie pushed her into her walk-in closet with the dress so she could change. Cecily did so happily, feeling absolutely on top of the world. Heavens, what a dress could do for a girl's spirits was amazing.

Feeling like a super-model, Cecily emerged from the closet and her friends all applauded. Not used to all the attention, she quickly changed the topic away from herself. "Where did you get these dresses?"

Obviously ecstatic that her twin liked the dress, Indie grinned impossibly wider. "I made them myself!" For a second, Cecily's jaw hit the ground, but then she caught herself. Indie had always had a knack for these kinds of things, but Cecily could never have guessed that she was that good. "I even made them out of scraps, because…" for a split second, Indie got a faraway look before covering it up with a neutral expression, probably because that was all she could manage- Cecily had an idea of why she had made the dresses out of scraps. "Because all the civilians we saw on that carriage ride had nothing, and I can't help feeling guilty dressing in finery."

Camille cleared her throat loudly, obviously not comfortable with the direction the conversation was going. That made two of them. "Yeah, she also managed to get me a new pair of boots." Cecily's gaze went down to her feet. She had never really paid much attention to Camille's boots, so she hadn't noticed at first that they were even different at all. They were still thigh-length, with a little bit of heel, and brown leather but they did look… newer? So, she wasn't good at noticing when something changed about someone's appearance. No one's perfect.

"Why? What happened to the last pair?" Sera asked, obviously about as good at noticing footwear as Cecily was. Indie also looked at Camille questioningly, as if to say, 'why didn't you mention this before?'

Making herself at home, Camille lounged on the bed, and Cecily couldn't help but give a little disapproving frown. She had just made that bed. "One of the little boys from the village said he liked them, so…" Camille just shrugged, as if it was obvious. Did noble gestures come easily to everyone but Cecily?

Sera smiled at Camille kindly. "That was very generous of you. You seemed very attached to those boots. Where they from home?" Camille just nodded, her voice apparently not working and Sera nodded with understanding. Cecily wondered if her friend had been acting so glum because of something from home. Before the interviews, she kept avoiding Nia and barely spoke. Vowing to ask about it later, Cecily forced herself back to the present.

To be honest, it had never occurred to her that all the other girls must feel terribly homesick. There was nothing waiting for Cecily back home but her abusive father, seeing as she had Indie here with her, so she didn't have anything to miss. But these girls had loving families and siblings who missed them. She wondered if Indie missed home. Of course, Cecily's twin ad no idea what a monster her father was, so she didn't know to be afraid of him. Who am I really protecting by keeping his true nature a secret? Cecily wondered. And for the first time, she didn't know what to think about keeping her secret from Indie. Was she being selfish by hiding the truth? And, really, how long was that going to last? She hadn't been able to keep it from Sera for very long, what was stopping her from telling Indie? Cecily pondered for a moment before coming to the obvious conclusion: she was afraid that Indie would see her as the broken shell of a person that she was.

* * *

Waving goodbye, Camille walks down the hall towards her room, enjoying the sound of her new boots against the flooring. At the halfway point, she noticed a guard posted outside her door. Blonde hair a complete mess, he stood staring at the wall, fidgeting with the sleeve of his uniform. Rolling her eyes, Camille stopped in front of him and put her hands on her hips. The guard didn't even blink.

Her good mood quickly evaporating, Camille grit her teeth. "What are you doing outside my room?" Slightly disappointed at er inability to keep her annoyance and frustration out of her voice, she watched as the guard turned to look at her with a bored expression on his face.

Of course, even with the slight heel in her boots, he was taller than her, so he looked down at her. "The king requested that I be posted here, Lady Alverez."

Camille's jaw dropped. The king requested that a guard be posted outside her door? How dare he? What, was he afraid that she would attack him or something? Thinking back to the fiasco in the Great Hall, Camille realized that that was actually a reasonable fear. She couldn't believe that he had tried to send Indie away just for being kind to the civilians of that town. And, besides, if that was a crime, every one of the selected were guilty.

Forcing herself back to the present, Camille clamped her jaw shut. "Well, thanks, I guess, but you can leave now." The sooner this guard left his post, the better Camille would feel.

Amusement in his eyes, the guard replied, "You may be one of the Selected, Lady Alverez, but the king's orders are still more important than yours." He hadn't even been subtle about calling her insignificant.

Hands balled into fists, Camille resisted the urge to storm off to her room. No doubt he would find that childish and get a good laugh out of it. "Whatever. And stop calling me 'Lady Alverez'. My name is Camille."

The guard turned back to the wall, and it was as if she didn't exist until he said. "Alright, but only if you call me Lucas." He finally looked her in the eye again, and Camille though that she even saw the beginning of a smile before his expression became bored again and he stared back at the wall.

With an annoyed snort, Camille went into her room without a word. It cost her much to let Lucas have the last word, but she hadn't known what to say. Collapsing onto her bed with a dramatic sigh, she stared up at the ceiling and waited for some sort of movement from Lucas. Having a guard posted outside of your bedroom was no fun.

* * *

Sera watched Camille leave soon after Indie and almost followed her, but it felt like her feet were too heavy to lift. Cecily was sat in a chair next to her now messy bed, nose in a book. On an impulse, Sera rushed over to close the door, then turned to face Cecily. The twin looked up from her book and raised one eyebrow in question. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Cecily set the book down on her bedside table and folded her hands in her lap, patiently waiting. Seeing as the bed was already messy, Sera saw no harm in sitting on it, so she perched on the end across from Cecily.

"I know that you've noticed that something's been up, and you're the best person to talk to…" Still slightly hesitant, Sera swallowed and wrung her hands nervously. "Before I came here, I lived with my parents and my two sisters, Zizi and Clara. Zizi hadn't filled out a form to be Selected because she had been dating someone-" Sera snorted at the thought of Brian- "but Clara had, though I hadn't known at the time. So when I got Selected, Clara thought that I had stolen the chance of a lifetime from her… I guess I had…" Shifting to a more comfortable position, Sera continued. "Right before you had told me about...you know…" Cecily's frown told Sera that she did know, so she didn't bother mentioning any abusive fathers or horrid boyfriends. "I got a letter from my family that said that-" he voice cracked a little- "That she had run away… and now we don't know where she is."

Cecily's frown was replaced with a concerned wrinkle on her forehead. "Don't worry; she can't avoid her problems forever, or hide what she's going through." She cocked her head a little in thought, gazing at her door. "No one can." Perhaps not, but they can postpone for quite some time… and who knows what could happen in that time.

* * *

Nia rested her hand in her lap and crossed her legs with a smile as she settled into her seat. Unable to believe it, she started thinking about what her family would think if they knew that she was having breakfast with a prince. No doubt her sister, Charlotte would be squealing and jumping up and down and gushing about her own boyfriend and what their meeting was like, Aunt Kay would probably wink at her and make some joke, her mother would take her hand and squeeze it with a knowing smile. Grandma Tia would most likely give her a set of rules to follow and boss her around about how to act around him. It was common knowledge in her family that she harbored a crush on Prince Ethan. Whenever the Report was on, Nia would be the first in front of the TV.

Across from her, Prince Ethan took a swig of his beverage, looking like he was trying to come up with something to say. He obviously didn't have much experience with this. "Nice dress. Very unique." The sweetheart-neckline dress was indeed unique, being made completely of light green scraps of material, it barely reached her knees as it fanned out from her waist.

Nia was impressed that he would even notice what she was wearing, and did her best to fight off an oncoming blush. "Thank you." Then, as there was a brief moment of silence, she continued, "Actually, Indie made it." But she desperately didn't want this conversation to be about Indie, or any of the other Selected, so she changed the subject. "So, what's it like? Being a prince, I mean. There must be a lot of pressure for you to deal with." Nia frowned sympathetically at him.

Prince Ethan just gave an amused chuckle and set down the fork he had been using to tap the table with. "You know, you're actually the second girl to ask me that."

Suddenly rigid and starting to get annoyed, Nia forced a friendly smile to her face. "Oh, really? I thought I was being original. Who else asked?"

Not noticing her discomfort, Prince Ethan leaned back in his chair, a charming smile lighting up his face and making his unusual gold-hazel eyes shine. "Indie." You don't say… Nia thought, doing her best not to grit her teeth in jealousy. Was Prince Ethan already setting his sights on another girl? That was hardly fair, seeing as he hadn't yet given her a chance. How could he already be so enraptured with one of the Selected? They hadn't even been there very long…

She didn't have time to come up with an answer because in that moment, a guard interrupted their date. "Your Highness!" he gasped, seemingly out of breath, ignoring Nia and instead focusing on Prince Ethan. "The rebels- they're here!" Rebels? Looking towards her date, he seemed as shocked as she did, face suddenly very pale. "I must get you to the safe rooms," the guard continued, still ignoring Nia and reaching to help Prince Ethan stand, but he wasn't having any of it.

"What of the Selected?" he asked instead. Nia had just enough time to think about how sweet it was of him to care so much about their safety before the doors burst open, letting in at least a dozen guards. Quickly, Nia and Prince Ethan were escorted out of the room they had only minutes before been eating breakfast in, Nia's heart pounding, pulse racing, and a lump building up in her throat.

* * *

Bellamy was rushed into a huge room lacking furniture, light, windows, soft flooring, and any sort of comfort by a guard that had been posted outside of her door. The large metal door closed behind her with a loud thud and Bellamy had to blink several times for her eyes to get used to the light. Once they did, she saw at least 20 of the Selected before her, huddled in corners with makeup streaked on their faces and red eyes from crying. Prince Aaron and Prince William were also present. Prince Jaxon, Prince Ethan, and the King and Queen were nowhere to be seen.

Sera and Cecily were trying to find Indie and Nia, Eira was doing her best to look stony- faced, and Camille was fiercely arguing with one of the guards, trying to get him to let her out to fight. Eliza was holding the little boy from the village in her arms, stroking his dark curls with one hand and murmuring things that were probably comforting in his ear. Bell couldn't see Alda anywhere. She didn't know the girl very well yet, but she had made conversation with her on the carriage ride and she had hoped that they could become friends.

Pushing her worry for Alda to the back of her mind, she went over to speak with Eira, who was standing still in the middle of it. Bell had yet to hear Eira speak one word, but perhaps she was just shy. She decided that it was worth a shot. They both needed to distract themselves from the destruction being wrought on the palace.

"Are you alright?" she asked when she was in listening distance. Eira lowered herself down to her knees without answering, staring at the hard ground. The attack had taken it's toll on everyone, including her. Not knowing what else to do, Bell sat down next to her. Eira turned her head towards her and blinked, as if she had just realized that she had company. Bell would never forget the look in her eyes in that moment. She had never seen anyone look so scared or so lost as Eira did. But just as soon as that little window to her soul was exposed, it covered up by dark curtains. Unnerved by what she had just seen, and positive that she hadn't been meant to see it, Bell rose to her feet and was about to walk off when Eira did the same.

Her gaze suddenly became steely and unfeeling as she said. "Oh, I'm fine," her voice quiet enough that only the two of them heard it. "But are you?" Confused by her question, Bell didn't get the chance to come up with an answer before Eira continued. "Because you don't seem fine." Smirking, she never missed a beat. "Poor little Bellamy Sinclair. Never good enough for her parents, always third best. Used to being ignored no matter what she did because it was never enough." Bell was shocked into silence, a lump building up in her throat and preventing her from asking how on Earth Eira knew all of this about her. How she knew that her family rarely ever treated her like family, and that it ate away at her every day. "Your sisters always stole the spotlight from you, didn't they?" She leaned in a little, her voice lowering and suddenly sounding dangerous. "Tell me, Bellamy, if you weren't good enough for your own parents, what makes you think that you'll be good enough for the prince?"

Something in Bellamy snapped then, and in a moment of weakness and blind anger, hatred, and hurt, she slapped Eira hard, sending the other girl sprawling to the floor. With the worst timing humanly possible, the door opened to reveal Prince Ethan and Nia. Eira looked up at Bell, somehow making her light, blue-grey eyes well up with tears, her long chestnut hair coming undone from a complicated- braid. And for the second time since they had met, Eira Havillard looked vulnerable, but this time Bell knew that she was faking it.

Sera and Cecily had to be the only ones that didn't notice, as they were too busy fussing over Nia. Well, Sera did the fussing. Cecily just tried to get answers about her twin's disappearance from her. Camille was also quite busy, briefly welcoming Nia back and then taking full advantage of the chaos by slipping out of the door unnoticed. As Nia wandered off with her friends, Ethan eyed Eira, who hadn't gotten up yet, but instead sniffed and murmured quietly to Bell, "What did I ever do to you?" her eyes full of fear and betrayal. In the silence, everyone could hear them, so Bell had to refrain from replying, 'you deserve and Oscar for this performance, Eira. Bravo.' She doubted that doing so would do her much good.

Prince Ethan, obviously thinking exactly what Eira wanted him to think, walked towards the two of them and helped Eira to her feet, ignoring Bell for the moment. Even though she wasn't really that hurt, Eira leaned heavily on Ethan, poor guy, and whimpered slightly for effect. "Bellamy Sinclair?" Bell forced herself to look him in the eye, hoping to God that he would see that she was innocent. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking for innocence. "Once this attack is over, you may return home." With that, he helped a limping Eira over to the rest of the Selected. And, as always, Bell was alone.

* * *

Fiddling with the silver ring on her right index finger, Indie tried to wait patiently in the palace gardens for Jaxon to appear. She'd been out there for half an hour, and was starting to get seriously worried. Deciding that she shouldn't make a habit of twisting the ring that Jax had given her, Indie's hand moved from her finger up to her ear, only to remember that she had given all of her earrings to the civilians of the village they had visited. She never wore necklaces, bracelet, or anklets, either. The only piece of jewelry that she was wearing was the leafy-patterned ring. Swallowing nervously as the realization set the butterflies in her stomach to panic. Was this grey-eyed prince going to forever be on her mind? If she was choosing her jewelry based on what she thought Jaxon would like, then she really was far gone. Maybe she had reached the point from no return.

Perhaps it was because that thought terrified her, but she suddenly couldn't wait in the gardens any longer, so she ran back towards the palace, her dress of scraps trailing behind her and her carefully braided hair falling apart. Halfway there, she slowed down, noticing that there were no guards posted outside like there usually was. Deciding not to question her good luck, she sped up again and arrived at the glass double doors. Once she entered, and quietly closed the doors behind her, she heard the sound of gunshots, and her heart started racing, remembering the 'civil unrest' that had been mentioned in the Great Hall. Without thinking, she ran in the opposite direction as the shots, abandoning caution and kicking off her white heels for her convenience, hoping that she would be able to find them later.

She was so focused on getting rid of her shoes that she didn't notice that someone was behind her until he grabbed her wrist, pulling her backwards until he pressed her back up against his chest and wrapped his right arm around her to trap her arms at her sides, using his free hand to cover her mouth, muffling her surprised shriek. Going still, Indie was sure that her attacker could hear her heart trying to beat it's way out of her chest. Instead of a gun to her head, she felt his chest rise quickly as he gasped. "Cecily?" The mention of her twin gave Indie enough courage to stomp on his foot with the foot that was still in the deadly heel. It wasn't enough to do him any harm, but she did manage to escape his grasp, slipping out of the heel at the same time and sprinting off down the hall, wondering the whole way why a rebel would know her sister. Apparently there were more secrets in these palace walls than she could have guessed, but from her sister? Her twin? Sisters weren't supposed to keep secrets.

* * *

Cradling Zeen's head in her lap, Eliza scanned the crowd for Lia, worry building in her chest when she didn't see her. Zeen stirred slightly, and Eliza smiled down at him when she realized that he had fallen asleep. Ever since the child had informed her of his lack of parents, she had known that she would be his new family; she knew what it was like to lose a family member. It was nothing as dramatic as a tragic death, but her parents had gotten in a divorce, and unfortunately it wasn't humanly possible to be in two places at once, and Eliza was only human.

Silence fell upon them and all of the Selected stared towards the middle of the safe room, where it looked like Bellamy had ust slapped Eira. Zeen lifted his head from his lap and studied the two girls with his intelligent bottle-green eyes. "She was provoked," he piped up. "Bellamy didn't mean her any physical harm." Eliza coaxed him back to sleep before he could witness Bellamy's harsh elimination, sure that he would try to speak up but knowing that it probably wouldn't do the any good. They were lucky to be there at all.

Soon after, Nia and Prince Ethan appeared in the doorway and Eliza's lap was once again abandoned as Zeen's head lifted up to observe his surroundings. This time it took her a little longer to convince him that sleep was necessary. After ten minutes of calm, Eliza decided that it was safe enough to try to fall asleep herself, but the peace was -as usual- short-lasting.

One of the Selected stomped her foot rather loudly and placed her hands on her hips, clearly very annoyed about something. Eliza remembered that her name was Sera, the one that hung out with the twins. "Unbelievable!" she exclaimed. "As soon as we find one of our friends, another one disappears! I swear, once I find Camille-" One of the other girls managed to get her to calm down, but the damage was already done.

"Boxing- girl left?" Zeen sat up, blinking rapidly and covering his mouth as he yawned. The child needed his sleep, and all these restless Selected girls weren't helping.

"Yeah, but she'll be fine. Camille's a bad-ass. You should go back to sleep." Not taking no for an answer, Eliza pushed his head back down to her lap, and he went willingly, too tired to fight back. Not five minutes later, the heavy metal door opened once again and Lia stepped into the safe room, only one shell left in her hair, which had come out of it's crown braid and her shoes missing. As soon as she spotted them, she walked over towards Eliza and Zeen.

"Hey, Z," she said, ruffling his hair and settling down next to Eliza and Zeen mumbled something, swatting away Lia's hand half-heartedly. "God, he really is tired," Lia observed helpfully. "Honestly, Eliza, what have you done to the child to deplete his energy so?"

Zeen sat up again, and he looked none too happy about Lia's presence. "I'm not sleeping with her. She always messes up my hair." Eliza shot Lia a quick glare, warning her not to point out that his hair was always messy anyway.

Lia wasn't going anywhere. She leaned back on her palms and grinned at Zeen. "Yeah? Well, I'm not leaving, so I guess you're going to have to live with it." She finished with the very mature act of sticking out her tongue.

"Okay, I officially give up," Eliza said, leaning back against the wall and throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Getting Zeen to sleep peacefully is absolutely impossible." She was starting to get grouchy from being in a dark room for over three hours and, really, could you blame her?

Cocking her head, Lia gave her a puzzled look. "Excuse me?" Eliza simply waved her question away and prayed for some sleep herself. Happy to let it go, Lia simply shrugged and got up to ask one of the guards for food. Pausing once she was on her feet, she glanced down at Eliza. "Why can't the fight be over in, like, five minutes? Either you win or you don't, right?" But Eliza knew that things weren't always so black and white.

 **A/N:**

 **So... Bellamy got eliminated. She was the kind of character where opinions varied greatly (you either loved or hated her or just didn't really care) I don't usually on purposely upset people, but I am sorry to those of you who liked her. Also, her creator wasn't reviewing very often, so... Unless you want the same thing to happen to your character, review! The next chapter will introduce another character to take the place of Bellamy (which I don't mean in a bad way) but I'm taking away the option for another extra character, because nobody seems interested. By the next chapter, all SYOC characters will have been introduced. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review!**

 **-M**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yay! I finally updated! I tried to make this a long one but I figured that you'd care more about getting a regular update that getting a super long update. If I'm wrong about that, though, let me know and I will do my best to make the chapters longer.**

 **Thank you to my reviewers from last chapter: Booki, Fryllabrille201, Jcuret98, Middle Sister, Silvertrue, and rysaspirit.**

 **On another important note, I got Pinterest :). My username is SettingStars01, so if any of you creators want to create a board for your character I will definitely be interested in looking at it. It's optional, of course, and not limited to only creators.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **-M**

Glad to finally be out of the safe room, Camille rushed off, putting distance between herself and anyone who would want to 'put her back in her place' as Lucas would say. Thankful that she was wearing her ever-present blessed boots instead of heels, Camille slowed down and listened for gunshots. When she heard them, she did what she usually did: she ran towards the danger with her heart pounding excitedly in her chest. Finally some action!

All her life she had been told that she wasn't ladylike, but she had been proud to be different. And then she had been stuffed into a fairy-tale castle with princes and princesses who were expected to sit back and let their problems be solved for them. She really needed to punch something, and she knew from experience that punching a wall only made matters worse. Considering she was currently in a castle, the best thing to punch would be the bad guys (A.K.A rebels) because anything else was breakable and extremely expensive.

Further down the hall she saw half a dozen guards facing off against twice as many rebels. Why hadn't they let her out sooner? It was clear that they were losing. Two more guards went down before Camille managed to reach them, at which point she realized that she knew one of them. "Lucas?" She was too busy being happy that he was alive (she would never wish death upon anyone. Unless they really deserved it) to notice the horror on his face at seeing her.

"Lady Alverez, what are you doing here?" He asked once they were both in an abandoned room. Camille recognized it from the interviews. Lucas's voice was low and worried and… terrifying.

"Hey, I held up my end of the deal. You forgot to call me Camille!" She exclaimed, placing a hand on her hip and cocking her head playfully. Better to joke than to face Lucas's rage. Unfortunately, the guard didn't seem to agree. If anything, Camille had only made matters worse.

Lucas turned away and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning back to her, mouth fixed in a disapproving frown and his eyes smoldering fires. Camille got that look a lot, though she had never understood why. "What is this to you? A game?" He shook her roughly and Camille's hand slipped from her hip, her playful demeanor gone as soon as it had come.

"Of course not," she scowled, breaking free of his grip. "You obviously need me; men are dying out there!"

Her guard- her cool, calm, and collected guard- let her go, shoulders sagging, and eyes tortured. "They are," he whispered. "And I probably will, too. You're right, Camille, we're losing…" His earlier anger had been leached out of him, replaced by a sense of uselessness that hung heavily between them. "And now," he continued, voice gradually rising, "instead of being out there and dying honorably, I'll probably die getting you out of the way, to safety. What a way to die."

Camille's jaw dropped in an almost audible way, and she didn't manage to get her bearings in time to answer him. "There are good men out there with families and loved ones, and they are dying to protect the Selected and the royal family. That includes you, Camille! And if you die today, then these men didn't do their jobs. And very few will live on to make up for that. More men are going to die than necessary because of a stray Selected. Did you ever think about that?"

Camille had lost her ability to speak. And her ability to move. She was left gaping at an empty room when Lucas left abruptly, probably expecting her to follow. Camille never followed anyone anywhere, but she was willing to make an exception. Silently making her way to the exit once she got her legs to move, she glanced around quickly, careful to stay out of the way of any rebels or guards and with some luck staying out of the crossfire, Camille Kristina Alverez did something she never did. She ran from the fight.

* * *

Panting heavily, Indie paused momentarily to try to process what had just happened. Reasoning that debating whether or not to ask Cecily about the rebel she had encountered could be done later, she started off again towards what she hoped was safety. And she soon found herself in an office, most likely the king's. Hiding in a closet of some sort, she tried yet again to catch her breath and slow down her pounding heart- but to no avail. Feeling along the wall for a light switch that wasn't there, she debated if it was worth the risk to move to a hiding space with light and more warmth.

Suddenly she heard the door swing open, and wrapped her arms around herself- a small comfort though it was. Maybe if she convinced herself that this was all naught but a bad dream, she could wake up soon. Maybe if she pretended to be strong as Cecily was, she could steady her trembling hands.

"How many casualties?" Asked a low, familiar voice. Prince Jaxon. She felt a surge of relief wash through her. So long as Jax was with her, she was safe. He would protect her, right? She was about to burst free from the closet when she remembered what it was that he had asked. Casualties?

Heavy footsteps echoed through the office, sending shivers up Indie's spine. "Only two," the king murmured, seeming very far away suddenly… Indie's heart stopped cold and it took her awhile to remember how to breathe. Only two? She tasted bile and feared that she was about to hurl right there and then, and she'd be found out. But she stayed silent and cold as a corpse, the taste in her mouth never leaving, and only heightened when the king announced, with more vigor in his voice this time, "The media must not know about this. We have to look strong." She could hear the drumming of his fingers against the desk. Faster, faster, faster… "We will act as if nothing happened here, and we'll pretend that the two dead Selected were sent home."

"But their families…" Jax said weakly, hardly even bothering to fight. Perhaps he had known what was coming, and knew that he couldn't stop it. Or perhaps he didn't care enough about the fate of those two girls. Either way, there was nothing he could ever say or do that would erase that fact that he hadn't fought harder from Indie's mind. She would never forget that the lives of so many had been taken in one night, and he had acted as though it were nothing.

"We will silence anyone who mentions their deaths, be it family, friends, neighbors… anyone steps out of line, and they will find out just how harsh the world we live in truly is." Indie waited for Jax to defend those dead, to argue that people deserved to know, families deserved to grieve. But it was just her, sitting in silence, waiting for something that was never going to occur.

Hugging her knees to her chest, she laid her head down and tried to silence her sobs. Someone should grieve the two dead Selected. Indie didn't even know their names, their faces, but she knew that they deserved to be remembered. No one- no king, no prince- had the right to wipe someone from the face of the Earth simply because that was what suited them best. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe- she needed to get out of this stuffy closet, out of this horror- ridden palace, she needed out.

"Yes, Father." His voice was quiet, barely a breath, but Indie could still hear the hopelessness in Jaxon's voice. How could he give up so easily? What could possibly have happened to him that would make it so difficult for him to fight for what is right? When she had first seen him, she had seen hope in his grey eyes. He was mysterious, forbidden, exciting. How wrong she had been. He was nothing but his father's lap dog, a selfish prince, and a lost cause.

She could hear the royals' footsteps as they exited the office, and she allowed herself to bawl her eyes out; there was no one there to see or hear her, so she didn't see how it could hurt. If anyone mentioned her red, puffy eyes, she could just blame it on her own fear of the attack. If only that was what had turned her insides to ice… if only she were only afraid, and not betrayed and burdened with two deaths…

* * *

The sound of gunshots sent Alda's heart pounding and her ears started ringing like crazy. Dashing around corners and down hallways, she found her room and rushed inside, thanking the gods that she hadn't run into any rebels. Though she was now technically one of them, none of them knew that. Zandri had 'commanded' her to simply deliver information about the palace and anything that she found out that would be of use to them.

She hadn't by any means stopped believing in their cause, but she hadn't yet given them any information; she was supposed to be a rebel, not a spy, and certainly not Zandri's lap dog. No one ordered Alda Layfield around before they earned her respect first.

Just as she had suspected, Zandri was lounging on her bed casually - she seemed to like that spot, much to Alda's annoyance. "Do you mind explaining to me what is going on here?" Alda asked, being careful to keep herself in check. Rarely did she get so upset about something, but she didn't want to have anything to do with this massacre.

Zandri didn't do much more than raise her eyebrow, but in that moment Alda noticed how stiff she was, and how she was squeezing her hands to keep them from shaking. Her eyes were larger than usual, and where she usually acted bored with everything, she was acting nonchalant and cocky. This was not her doing; she was afraid.

Softening her tone, Alda tried again, purposely making herself seem harmless and safe by turning her desk chair towards Zandri and sitting in it. "How did things get so out of hand, and how can be regain control?" The rebel leader seemed relieved at how calm Alda seemed, but inside, she was no less panicked than she had been when she first walked through her bedroom door. More so, in fact; she hadn't known Zandri very long, but she was clearly a woman that could not be shaken up easily.

Taking in a deep breath and sitting up right, having given up on the confident and nonchalant facade, Zandri swung her legs over the side of Alda's bed and rested her elbows on her knees, still clasping her shaking hands together. Alda was slightly annoyed by this, as it forced her to get up and stand in front of Zandri in order to view her better, but she couldn't think of anything that she had to gain by stating her displeasure, so she didn't.

"The rebels that attacked aren't my rebels."

Alda felt her stomach drop. "What do you mean they aren't your rebels?" she asked, careful to keep her voice steady. "I was under the impression that there was only one group of rebels, and that you were the head of them."

Zandri swallowed, the only indication she showed of feeling guilty for giving Alda false information. "A few years ago, one of our rebels went rogue. He had been one of the best of us." She nodded her head, eyes closed, body still, as if she were agreeing with herself - as if she was the only one in the room. Alda felt her jaw clench as she felt the knot of nerves in her stomach expand. The head of the rebels was more than shaken, she seemed terrified - as if she were frozen inside a nightmare of her own creation, unable to wake up.

"Liam - that was his name - was indeed a good gunman, and a witty man, always able to plan everything to the last minute. Things always went his way, but he was often times rather unpredictable. He was our wild card - a dangerous man to team up with, but a more dangerous man to have as an enemy." She shifted her weight and opened her eyes to meet Alda's. "But soon it became apparent that we couldn't afford to have him on our side; he started down a downward spiral quite early on, starting riots, riling up other rebels who went astray, and so on. But then one day - he just snapped." She shook her head, eyes closed again, as if they were discussing that it was simply a shame to have lost a useful rebel instead of discussing something that had ultimately caused the chaos around them. "Him and other's loyal to him up and left without warning. This is the first that we've heard of them since."

Doing her best to look composed, Alda balled her hands into fists. One man. All of this death was at the hands of one man. And from what she had heard, he was well-trained, clever and wily, unpredictable, an excellent strategist, and possibly insane. Not what she had been hoping to hear. "Do you have any idea how to stop him? Or where he can be found?" Surely there was a way to get themselves out of this mess.

"Not in the slightest."

* * *

Harper listened to the steady dripping noise of a leak in some other cell, her back pressed against the wall farthest from the bars of her cell. Unrealistic and pointless as it was of her, she didn't like to acknowledge that she was probably in the last place that she wanted to be right now. Daydreaming often helped, closing her eyes and imagining that she was back home.

Dad would be at the factory working hard to make a living for them all, little eight-year-old Maribella in the kitchen trying to learn to cook, Gram huddled into a corner and covered in blankets, knitting needles making a comforting clicking sound, and Alex scolding Harper for whatever foolish thing she had recently done.

Selfishly, she thanked her lucky stars every spare second she had that she wasn't alone. These cells were wretched enough without isolating her from her family as well. The fact that they were all here was both a blessing as well as a curse. Sniffing, Harper pulled her knees up to her chest and fought past the lump in her throat and aching in her chest. She had already cried herself dry of tears; it was her fault that they were all here, and she couldn't stand it. If she had only been stronger, then her family wouldn't have been hauled off to the palace cells.

Little Maribella had often admired the royal family from what she saw of them on television. She'd have the TV on whilst she did the house chores and committed more recipes to memory. Out of all of them, Maribella had taken their mother's death the hardest, even though she had been too small to remember her. Most likely, it was for the time that she could've had with her mother that made her grieve so. Back and home, she had had this idea of replacing Mom and looking after them all to keep her occupied, and now…

Harper glanced over at Alex and Maribella, curled up together and fast asleep. Ever since their lives had been turned upside-down, Maribella had completely shut down, and the Madison family was reduced to emotionally-wrecked Harper, zombie Maribella, and Alex and Gram, ever the outspoken two. As for her dad, Harper assumed that him not being here meant that he had had the sense to flee.

What a mess they were. And it was all her fault. Here come the waterworks.

Gram glanced at her from her corner of the cell before readjusting her knitted blanket and staring at the vacant cell across from them. "Chin up, child," she said, her voice as steely and unwavering as always. "One thing that I simply cannot bear is self pity." That didn't surprise Harper; the list of things that Gram 'simply couldn't bear' was extremely long. Being held prisoner by a government that she already hated with a passion wasn't helping her pessimistic nature, either. Gram rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet as if she still had her rocking chair. Perhaps she daydreamed of their earlier life, as well.

"Do you blame me?" Harper blurted. Gram raised an eyebrow at her and Harper's younger sisters stirred in their sleep. After a moment's hesitation, Gram sighed and scooted over to sit next to Harper, doing her best to cover both of them in her blanket. Touched, Harper remembered how hard she had fought for the right to keep this blanket - she had finished just before they became prisoners.

"Of course I don't blame you," Gram said with a nonchalant snort. "This government is so messed up now that they didn't need a real reason to lock us up." Harper scooted closer, cherishing the warmth that she felt now that she knew that Gram, at least, didn't think that she was at fault. "One day, I hope that one of those stuffy royals realizes this, but I can't see it happening anytime soon," Gram whispered, her old, cold bones creaking as she shifted her weight so she could sleep. "Goodnight, child." Her voice was barely a murmur, and Harper realized that Gram was right.

How could those guards sleep at night knowing that they threw an old lady in jail will no proof that she had even done anything wrong. They had even tries to take her blanket from her. They wrecked little Maribella's life and dampened Alex's hope for a better future. How could the royals live on in luxury as their whole kingdom suffered? Gram was right.

What a twisted, broken world they lived in.

 **A/N: Thank you to all of my readers for being patient with me, and for deciding to keep reading despite my slow updates. By all means, reading my story is great, but I'd really appreciate it if you also took the time to leave a review.**

 **Tell me what you thought of the chapter, who your favorite characters are, and if you want to give me suggestions for future chapters I will do my best to incorporate your ideas into my story.** **What did you think of the rebel problem? Who do you want to see more of in the future?** **Also, did anyone recognize that last line? Let me know if you did, but perhaps it was too long ago for it to be memorable.**

 **Reviews make me write faster, just saying... ;)**

 **-M**


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